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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 M AY 1 , 2 0 1 7 F O C U S G L O B A L E C O N O M Y Atlanta-based Americold, the world's largest cold-storage com- pany that runs a 65-year-old facil- ity on Read Street in Portland, has pledged to invest up to $30 million in a 65-foot-tall waterfront structure. But it still needs to convince the planning board, which wants more information before giving a recom- mendation to the City Council, and nearby residents like Anne Pringle, president of the Western Promenade Neighborhood Association and a for- mer Portland City Council member representing the Western Waterfront. "We want to see it demonstrated: What is the size of the building that Eimskip needs to fi ll its projected vol- ume over a reasonable planning hori- zon of 10 to 20 years?" Pringle says. She also says it's too "simplistic" to char- acterize critics as people who want to safeguard their views, which would be similarly impaired by a 45-foot-tall edi- fi ce. "I personally observed a bunch of contentious development projects," she says. "If somebody comes in and asserts they have a need, the city should make them prove it." Other opponents argue that truck traffi c would signifi cantly increase, property values would drop and that only a small percentage of products being shipped out of the International Marine Terminal would benefi t eco- nomically from on-site cold storage. In response, supporters point to evidence including a study by Portland engineering fi rm Woodard & Curran, which found that Eimskip's ship- ping volumes are growing so fast that a warehouse limited to 45 feet would exceed capacity by 2023. A separate study by the same fi rm found that a taller warehouse would give enough scale to off er rates that are competitive with facilities in Massachusetts. e main draw of the proposed facility would be its waterfront location, the last part of a wider plan to build up Portland's multi-modal cargo-hub status. It would Award Sponsors Dignitary Sponsor Ambassador Sponsor Diplomat Sponsors Diplomat Sponsors Diplomat M A I N E I N T E R N A T I O N A L T R A D E C E N T E R P R E S E N T S TRADE DAY 2017 Charting a Course in the Changing EU Thursday, May 25 12 - 6 pm Bangor, ME Register Today! mitc.com C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in If somebody comes in and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have and asserts they have a need, the city should make them prove it. — Anne Pringle Western Promenade Neighborhood Assoc.

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