The project team behind “Old Port Square” in Portland unveiled plans Tuesday for what would be the tallest building in Maine. After a decade of collaboration, East Brown Cow and Safdie Architects shared their vision for revitalizing the downtown area with a new 380-foot-tall building and several new renovations in a 4-acre area of Middle, Exchange, Fore, and Union Streets. The architects aim to create a new urban heart in Portland while honoring the city’s history, culture, and existing architecture.
“Old Port Square” would feature new retail spaces, hotels, restaurants, offices, residences, parking, and outdoor community spaces. Looming over “Old Port Square” would be a new 30-story tower at 45 Union St. This tower would feature a publicly accessible “sky lobby” and a restaurant with 360-degree views of the city and Casco Bay.
“The project’s breakthrough was the day we latched onto the idea that this is a beacon,” said Moshe Safdie, Safdie Architects’ Founding Partner. “It’s a lighthouse in the tradition of the lighthouses of Portland, those slender, beautiful structures that rise out of the land or out of the water, that become icons in the landscape for good purpose.”
The design unveiling follows the city’s adoption of a new land use code, known as “Recode,” in November 2024, which, among other changes, raises the maximum height for new construction in downtown Portland. The project still needs to be approved by Portland’s Planning and Urban Development department, but if approved, the project team hopes to break ground in 2027.
Old Port Square vision unveiled
The broader plan has been in the works for the past 15 years and aims to bring more homes, hotels, offices, restaurants and more to the Old Port. “I think it’s great.
I have lived in Portland for a long time and I have always loved the fact that we are on the map now…there is stuff going on in Portland, Maine now,” Portland resident Erin Metivier said. Some residents hope a side benefit of the project could be more affordable housing in the city. “I think there is a real interest in the city.
There are a lot of jobs, there are a lot of restaurants, activities, and events. I think people are eager to be in the city, it is just prohibitively expensive to a degree that prevents people from being there,” Portland resident Russell Fournier said. A construction schedule for Old Port Square has not been released yet.
The next step involves submitting detailed plans for the new buildings to Portland’s planning board for approval.
