V O L . X X I X N O. V I
E
ven as Portland adoption of
the Green New Deal, rent con-
trol measures and exclusion-
ary zoning have sent other develop-
ers running for less-regulated cities,
Watson and his team have vowed to
stick with Portland. In the past year,
it continued to acquire buildings and
a parking garage in Portland, and the
company is winding up construction
of the 171-unit Armature apartment
building in the Bayside neighbor-
hood — where Portside has told the
city it expects to build another 800
units in coming years.
Mainebiz: I believe you moved here
from Massachusetts, first coming
up in 1993. What attracted you to
Portland at that time?
Tom Watson: I was an ultimate
frisbee player and I came up to play
in a game at Fort Williams in Cape
Elizabeth. e Portland team took me
out for beers afterwards to Gritty's.
e beer, the frisbee, the people, the
architecture, all stupendous. I knew I
was home here in Portland.
Developer Tom Watson,
principal of Port
Properties, has a total
of 2,000 housing units
in greater Portland
and Wilmington, N.C.,
and another 2,000 in
the construction or
planning stages. Maine
is in a housing crunch
and there's a need for
housing in both the
affordable and market-
rate categories.
A developer that's
stuck with Portland
through thick and thin
P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY
INDUSTRY LEADER OF
THE YEAR / DEVELOPMENT
Tom Watson
Founder/Chairman, Port Property
C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 4
»
Tom Watson, founder and
chairman of Port Property, has
committed to building another
800 housing units in Portland,
even as other developers
have shied away from the city
and its increasingly stringent
development regulations.
Tom Watson is committed to working with the city
B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n
Port Property
www.portproperty.com
188 State St., Portland
What it does: Development and
management of apartment buildings
and mixed-use properties
Employees: 58
M A R C H 2 0 , 2 0 2 3 12
