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Development Plan: The Portland Technology Park is being developed on 26 acres of City-owned land on Rand Road, adjacent to Maine Turnpike Exit 47. The property is being designed as a business park with a campus-like setting for new and expanding technology companies. At full build-out the Park will have approximately 120,000 square feet of space in seven buildings, ranging from 10,000 to 32,000 square feet. The City will fully permit the development and construct a 1,400 foot public road into the site with utilities along the road. Each company that purchases a development unit will be responsible for constructing its building, driveway and parking area. The road will be built in two phases. Phase one will include 950 linear feet of road and phase two will add an additional 450 feet, opening up the Park for full build-out. The City received an Economic Development Administration grant of $660,000 to assist with the Park’s development.
Growth of Technology Cluster: As its name implies, the Portland Technology Park is being created for high technology firms, with particular emphasis on life sciences. This global, knowledge-based industry supports well-paying jobs, tends to create spin-off companies and is strengthened by clustering to more effectively network ideas, enhance innovation, and share resources. The Greater Portland Region is already home to the largest life sciences cluster in the State of Maine. Portland is partnering with five neighboring communities in a regional initiative focused on attracting more out-of-state life sciences companies to Greater Portland and growing this emerging industry cluster into a strong and sustainable economic force in Maine.
Environmentally Friendly Campus: With limited remaining developable property in Portland, the City is looking to achieve the best utilization of land in a cost-effective, environmentally sensitive manner. Toward this end, low impact development techniques are being incorporated into the design, such as reduced impervious surfaces, siting buildings for maximum solar gain, and use of gravel wetlands for stormwater management, which will minimize the impact to the natural hydrology of the site and reduce the overall project footprint. All buildings in the Park will meet or exceed LEED Silver. Given the substantial acreage in wetlands scattered throughout the site, the Park is being designed as a condominium development in order to maximize building square footage while keeping wetlands impacts to a minimum. The Park will connect to trail systems throughout 200 acres of adjacent Resource Protection Zone land, including an Audubon sanctuary. The trails will provide a unique resource for employees at the Park as well as for the public, with an area dedicated to trailhead parking for the community’s use.
Zoning: Office Park (OP) – Permitted uses include offices and research & development. Conditional uses include manufacturing for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and nanotechnology firms.
Timeline: Design, engineering and permitting is anticipated through Fall 2011. Once the Park is fully permitted, companies can proceed with submitting site plan applications for their individual buildings. Phase one of the road will be put out to bid in winter, with construction completed by Summer 2012.
Buildings: At full build-out, the Park will accommodate seven buildings: Four buildings at 10,000 sf each, two 2-story buildings at 20,000 sf each, one 2-story building at 32,000 sf (with a 10,000 sf option for expansion).
Cost of Condominium Unit Areas (rather than parcels): Ranging from $250,000 to $400,000.
Parking: In most cases, four spaces per 1,000 square feet of development.
Contact: For more information, contact Nelle Hanig, Business Development Representative, City of Portland, 207-756-8019, nrh@portlandmaine.gov.
