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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 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 that scale had been approved since the 440-apartment, retail and hotel Midtown project planned for nearby Somerset Street in 2015. at project was never built. e size of the big building on the small lot at 52 Hanover didn't, even for a second, faze Watson. He understands that the scale of the project may make some people nervous. "Some folks are worried about the size," he says. "Change is scary. I get it. But once it's built, and people see the neighborhood change, see people on the sidewalks, they're going to love it. "I never saw it as big," he says. "I said, 'is is going to be really cool.'" e project isn't just unique to West Bayside, Watson says. "It's unique to Portland." Spreading the risk around e transformation of West Bayside began more than 20 years ago with a city plan that called for housing, trails and more in what had become a post-urban-renewal industrial wasteland. e main features of the neighborhood bordered by Forest Avenue, Franklin Street, Congress Street and Interstate 295 were a vacant railroad yard, three scrap yards and the city's Department of Public Works, which took up sev- eral blocks. Development was slow to arrive, colored by a drawn-out back and forth over the failed Midtown project. e city public works department planned to move to Canco Road in 2018, and as the Midtown dispute ground to its conclusion, city officials in 2017 decided to sell the parcels separately. e city "hit the sweet spot," with the public works property developers, says Jeff Levine, who was the city's director of planning and urban development at the time, and now is a lecturer on eco- nomic planning and development for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. "In retrospect, the best thing to happen was the decision to develop it in small pieces," he says. Not only did the strategy "spread the risk around," in case one develop- ment failed, but the different develop- ment visions that complement each other have spurred organic growth in the neighborhood. Goal of creating density Watson says the city's lack of afford- able places to live was a factor in the decision to build the apartment complex. He's developed more than 1,400 apartment units in the city and understands Portland's goal of adding affordable housing. He and his development partner, John Laliberte, said, to that end, they wanted to build as many apartment units as they were allowed to on the site. Watson notes the height maximum is designed to allow more density in the area. "ere's a lot of opportunity to build up in Bayside," he says. "Up is good, density in the city is good. So, we decided to go up." e building will range from five to eight stories, fitting in with the grade of the lot. Levine says Watson's 82 Hanover and Rob Barrett's Public Works office space in the former paint and sign shop at 65 Hanover show how utilitarian buildings can be nicely reused. Still, he's not sur- prised Watson's team went in a different direction with 52 Hanover. "It's an indication of how strong housing demand is right now," Levine says. He says the large-scale building works well with the neighborhood. Different size buildings make a neigh- borhood more interesting, he says. Specialized medical centers. High-tech education facilities. Destination resorts. Complex manufacturing. Downtown revitalization. You dream it, we build it. 131 Presumpscot Street, Portland pcconstruction.com B U I L D I N G S T R O N G E R T O G E T H E R Biddeford Parking Garage Biddeford Parking Garage C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » There's a lot of opportunity to build up in Bayside. Up is good, density in the city is good. So, we decided to go up. — Tom Watson 52 Hanover developer P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Tom Watson, developer of 52 Hanover St., plans 171 apartments and ground floor retail. The building will be the largest on the former Portland public works site.

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