Portland residents offered mixed responses to a plan to build a 30-story tower in the city's Old Port.
The proposal, from developers East Brown Cow Management Company, calls for a 365-foot building that would be, by far, the tallest in the region.
It's also the first major project to test Portland's new zoning requirements and height allowances that the city updated last year under a process known as "ReCode."
At a planning board workshop about the project Tuesday evening, supporters of the plan said the development makes sense for the downtown area, because it will repurpose a surface parking lot and encourage upward growth.
'While its height does represent a new chapter for our peninsula, that progression is both intentional and appropriate," said Eamonn Dundon of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce. "Portlanders spoke clearly throughout the public engagement process of ReCode. Taller buildings belong downtown, where they support walkability, transit, housing and economic growth."
The project calls for 73 condos and 88 hotel rooms, with a publicly accessible observation area at the top. Supporters also argued that Portland needs housing of all kinds, including high-end condos.
But critics of the project said they're concerned about the building's height and questioned whether another hotel is needed on Portland's peninsula.
"To compromise Portland's skyline for such a large building, that looks like it belongs in Boston or Houston, is a real serious issue," said Portland resident Paul Correia, who called the proposed tower an "eyesore."
The Portland planning board will have additional meetings to consider the project, known as Old Port Square, before voting on whether to approve the development.
