Brainerd Hill project in Portland enters final stages

PORTLAND — One the casualties of the Jan. 4 snowstorm was a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, during which there was to be further discussion of the site plan for the proposed Brainerd Place/Elmcrest project.

That meeting was canceled as a snowstorm buffeted the state.

Now, weather permitting, a meeting Thursday will take up the issue, said Landuse Administrator Ashley Majorowski, who thinks the commission will close the public hearing that evening.

Doing so would set the stage for a final decision on moving forward with the mixed-use project, which has an estimated price tag of some $30 million.

Developer Daniel Bertram and his team have been trading analyses of the project with members of a similar town’s team of experts, as both sides work to narrow differences and clarify various issues.

“There is mutual respect” between the town and developer, Majorowski said last week. “It seems like everyone wants to see it happen,” she said of the project, which has been under one or another form of study since 2014.

However, Majorowski said once the public hearing closes, “approvals will take some time.”

The commission will require certain conditions — involving issues as varied as site restoration, erosion control and settlement bonds — that will shift as the project takes shape. “It will probably be an extensive list of conditions,” Majorowski said.

Once the commission completes its list of conditions, “It will have to go to the town attorney for review.”

This is the most significant project presented to the town in years. It is also the largest major project that Majorowski has worked on since she was hired last year.

Despite that, she has won praise for her careful approach to the project, and her insistence on making the approval process as transparent as possible so residents can follow the journey from idea to reality.

Bertram’s proposal calls for construction of upward of 240 studio, one- and twobedroom rental units on the 14.7-acre former hospital property at the intersection of Main Street and Route 66/Marlborough Road. There will also be retail/ commercial space on the site, including, possibly, a chain pharmacy, coffee shop and various restaurants.

Bertram said while he has had preliminary discussions with potential tenants, nothing definite has been decided, and won’t be until the site plan wins approval.

The plan is the most detailed description of the various aspects of the project, including parking areas, buildings, amenities, such as public spaces, and in this instance, the preservation of a number of specimen trees that will be dotted throughout the property.

First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield, who has advocated for the project, said it could provide needed housing for millennials, as well as create a village center that could serve the needs of residents and visitors alike. Just as importantly, Bransfield said the project would contribute to much-needed economic development in town.

That issue has acquired added significance in light of deep cuts to the town — some $800,000 in state aid — during the continuing state budget crisis.