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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 2 1 F O C U S R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G next day if we got the right price." He doesn't rule out doing further deals in Portland, where he hopes that some restaurateurs who had to close during the pandemic will reopen or reinvent themselves with a new concept. "e city will come back," he says. Raising the Canopy Unlike Norwich Partners, Jim Brady's Fathom Cos. is involved in both hotel development and manage- ment, starting with Portland's Press Hotel in a renovated Art Deco-era newspaper building. e Canopy by Hilton is a new build on an empty lot — where E. Swasey & Co. once made pottery and glass- ware — that had long been on Brady's radar. While he won't disclose what he's investing to build the 104,000-square- foot structure, he notes it wouldn't be for less than $300 a square foot — or at least $31.2 million. Despite rising construction costs and some furniture delivery delays, there's been no skimping on the design — the interior is by Portland's Ealain Studio — which built a model room in a warehouse as a test run down to the plumbing and fixtures. "It's a great exercise, and at the end of the day I'm confident it leads you to building a better project," Brady says. e Canopy Portland Waterfront, which broke ground in October 2019, is targeting a spring opening albeit with no firm date. Confident that demand from leisure travelers for outdoor des- tinations puts Maine in a strong spot, Brady expects a similar pickup in busi- ness travel by the fall. Brandon Hussey, Fathom's sales and marketing director, voices a similar view as reservations for later in the year start to come in, not- ing during a site walk-through: "It's encouraging to see some of those get in the books." While the Canopy and Press Hotel will in part be competing with one another, Brady also expects operational efficiencies. Like the Press Hotel, he expects the Canopy to employ around 100 people when fully up and running. Brady, who has other, non-hotel development projects in Biddeford and Lewiston, says he'd be open to other opportunities in Portland but probably not immediately given con- straints on new development. More generally, he says: "We're excited about the Portland market- place and hope that people continue to want to come here for both work and play." Cambria's autumn aspirations Bucking the Commercial Street trend, the Cambria Hotel Portland Old Port is out to conquer the eastern water- front, an emerging area for commercial development. "For years it was no man's land, but that's not the case now," says Bateman, of Bateman Partners, the developer behind the project with a huge portfolio of residential and commercial projects. As with the Portland Harbor Hotel and the Inn at Diamond Cove, Bateman Partners develops hotels but leaves management to others. For the $27.5 million, 102-room Cambria, it has teamed up with Shipyard and other partners including Donohoe Cos. of Bethesda, Md.; and Detroit- based Koucar Management. ey're aiming to open by the start of the fourth quarter, and while that means missing the summer season, Bateman says, "We're optimistic we're going to have a good fall, and you have to roll with the punches." He adds that "there are a lot of fun things we can plan over the winter," in the same spirit as the Portland Harbor Hotel's Ice Bar tradition. Starting new beer traditions at the Cambria, the indoor-outdoor rooftop bar will feature actual hops plants to be used in beer made by Shipyard. "Someone once told me the clos- est thing to being in show business is hotels," Bateman says. "You either love it or you hate it. I've come to love it." Interestingly, it was recorded drone footage of Casco Bay that lured the Batemans to the Cambria hotel project, which is entirely pre-fab construction. Once completed, his firm's involve- ment will end, as per its usual prac- tice, leaving others to manage the new establishment. "Construction projects are always bittersweet," Bateman admits. "We enjoy designing and building them, but once they go out in the marketplace it's like raising a child, and then saying, 'Let's see how you make out in the real world.'" R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s Valued Partner Trusted Employer Interstate Electrical Services Corpora on 855.500.IESC www.iesc1.com Check out our careers page to explore exci ng opportuni es at Interstate! Electrical Construc on Design Build Engineering BIM Coordina on Extensive Prefabrica on Smart Material Placement Value-Add For Your Projects SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS START FROM THE GROUND UP ME 207-286-8008 • NH 603-427-0244 • MA 508-623-0101 WWW.RWGILLESPIE.COM CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TESTING AND INSPECTIONS Soils, asphalt, concrete, masonry, fireproofing, and steel: Reduce potential delays, defects, unexpected costs, and repeated maintenance. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING Groundwater, landfills and tank removal monitoring GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING AND EXPLORATIONS You see what's on top, we'll show you what's below. You either love [hotel development] or you hate it. I've come to love it. — David Bateman Bateman Partners LLC

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