Courtesy / City of South Portland
The location of the Piggery is shown in this map.
January 13, 2021
South Portland considers complex compromise over Piggery development deal
Courtesy / City of South Portland
An aerial photo shows some of the Piggery, a 6.2-acre parcel of undeveloped land in South Portland that may become the site of both a condo complex and preserved open space. Broadway is to the left of the area shown in the photo.
By William Hall
The city of South Portland on Wednesday takes the next step in an unusual land deal that represents a compromise between residents and real estate developers.
The city Planning Board is expected to recommend spending $1.51 million to acquire roughly 6.2 acres of open space at 115 Summit Terrace Road — known as the Piggery — from developer Dan White. White is in the process of buying it from another developer, Quirino “Skip” Lucarelli.
According to memos, the city would then sell about a third of the property back to White, whose business, HW Land Co., plans to build 20 condominium units there. The remaining 4.1 acres would be preserved as open space.
The land is currently a mix of forest, meadows and wetlands, and one of the largest undeveloped tracts in South Portland. For decades, residents of the surrounding Ferry Village, Meetinghouse Hill and Willard Square neighborhoods have used the land for recreation and have taken nature walks there.
The derivation of the Piggery name isn’t clear, though some say it’s because a pig farm was once sited nearby.
In 2019, plans by Lucarelli for a condo development on the site prompted South Portlanders to organize a group to preserve it. In March 2020, the group submitted a petition with 245 signatures requesting the South Portland City Council to buy and protect the Piggery.
But the city’s Land Bank didn’t have the $2 million Lucarelli wanted for the property if his deal with White didn’t work out. Instead, officials began negotiations with White, who had originally planned to develop it with 35 condo units.
White was willing to limit his plans to an unwooded portion of the property abutting another development, and to sell the balance to the city, according to the city memos.
Meanwhile, however, White’s financing for his acquisition was still pending. And Lucarelli had said he was ready to pursue his own development — without plans for open space — if White’s project fell through.
In a December meeting, the City Council voted to have the city step in as a middleman, buying the entire parcel from White and then selling the unwooded portion. If White is unable to complete that deal, South Portland will look for another developer to buy it.
The City Council vote required the Planning Board to do another review of the deal before moving forward, but the timeline of the transaction made that impossible, according to a memo. So the board may simply send it back to the council with a recommendation to proceed.
Preservation of open space is an issue of growing concern in South Portland. Proposals such as a recent plan for a 12-unit condo complex at 66 Evans St. have prompted calls for a moratorium on new development. The council in September ruled that such a freeze would not be allowed under state law.
In addition to the Piggery deal, the Planning Board will consider an updated site plan Wednesday for the Evans Street project. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and remote access information is available here.
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