Redeveloping the Heart of Historic Portland, Maine, at Old Port Square

By Laura Rote, Green Building & Design

"Life is returning to the Old Port Square district at the heart of historic Portland after decades of underutilization. The area suffered from the so-called urban renewal of the ’60s and ’70s that killed many downtowns for decades, transforming them into unapproachable megablocks, according to Jacob Soley, director of development at East Brown Cow in Portland. The area was largely fenced off from the ’80s until 2009 when East Brown Cow, the real estate developer, first bought property within the four-acre site.

Soley, a self-described history buff, is excited about the ongoing revitalization and the opportunity to bring people back to home base. The location is the center of the creation of the city dating back to the mid-to-late 1600s. “You’re at the nexus of where the energy of the city has been for all these centuries,” he says.

You’re at the nexus of where the energy of the city has been for all these centuries.

Today Old Port Square is well on its way to being a proper community hub again, hosting food trucks, live music, mobile vendors, and more in warmer months. “We really want to draw the energy in and through the site and break down the scale of that big megablock, preserving the existing street edges and the scale but extending pedestrian pathways and creating courtyards and spaces that are more in keeping with the scale of that historic Old Port fabric,” Soley says."

Read the full article here.