Downtown Portland Ready for Maine's Tallest Building

A proposed development in Portland, Maine could significantly alter the city's skyline. Tim Soley, president of the East Brown Cow, alongside Safdie Architects, is leading the “Old Port Square” project.

According to News Center Maine, “over the last 16 years, Soley has strategically acquired properties in this block. His latest vision includes a 30-story hospitality and residential tower — approximately 380 feet tall. The top of the tower would include a publicly accessible sky lobby and restaurant that offers 360-degree views of Casco Bay and the White Mountains.”

Despite Soley's impressive design initiatives, some have challenged the need for a 380-foot-tall hospitality tower in a low-level city. In a recent article by Design Boom, the question arises, “how can a tall building belong in a low-rise, historic city?” According to Design Boom, “the answer comes in the form of a beacon — an architectural gesture rooted in the region’s maritime lineage. Rising 380 feet at 45 Union Street, the slender tower recalls Maine’s lighthouses, reinterpreted in glass, timber, and stone.”

Design Boom further highlights that the tower is “... raised on pilotis, the building is both grounded and open, creating permeability at the pedestrian level. The palette and proportions echo the adjacent brick warehouses and cobbled streets, while the structure above shifts into lighter tones and forms, culminating in a vaulted lantern that nods to the lighthouse metaphor without replicating it.”

Overall, the “Old Port Square” project could prove beneficial to the city of Portland, as the tower requires minimal procedures compared to most renewal projects. Kevin Kraft, director of Planning and Urban Development, tells News Center Maine, “the proposal would add significant density to again – an area that’s highly underutilized ... it won’t require the demolition of any existing buildings or natural areas.”

The project is still pending approval from Portland's City Planning Board.