New York developer pitches concept for South Portland office complex

SOUTH PORTLAND – A New York developer who shocked South Portland with a hotel proposal calling for twin 35-story towers will meet next week with city officials.

This time, John Cacoulidis is proposing to build an office complex on a portion of the 22-acre lot he owns on Portland Harbor. He will present rough plans for the office building to the planning board at a workshop Tuesday.

The 70,000- to 100,000-square-foot office building is expected to be part of a larger development that would eventually include an upscale marina, hotel and retail area, City Manager Jeffrey Jordan said.

He said a possible tenant is pushing Cacoulidis to move forward on the parcel’s development.

Cacoulidis is getting close to reaching a design that could win the board’s approval, Jordan said. The proposed hotel’s height is near the zoning requirement that a building be less than 86 feet tall and the plan itself is starting to reach a scale the public could support, Jordan said.

The informal meeting will reopen public discussion on plans to develop the site, located between Bug Light Park and the municipal boat ramp and described as the last undeveloped property on South Portland’s waterfront.

“He is certainly talking about things that are likely much more acceptable to the neighborhood,” Mayor Linda Boudreau said.

Cacoulidis’ initial proposals met opposition from residents and elected officials alike. One plan included a hotel with tall towers, a convention center, a hospital and cable cars strung across Portland Harbor.