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The former Children\u2019s Museum at 142 Free St. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette\/Staff Photographer) <\/p>\n
PORTLAND \u2014 Mark Bessire, director of the Portland Museum of Art, was talking about what will replace the building at 142 Free St.<\/p>\n
The museum went through months of public meetings and court hearings to tear down that building. At various times, that property was home to the Children\u2019s Museum and Theatre of Maine, the Chamber of Commerce, a church and a theater. Now, the Portland Museum of Art plans to build a sweeping new wing of the museum on that site.<\/p>\n
But the existing building will come down well before that project is shovel ready. So the museum plans to temporarily use the property as a public space for art, performances and community events.<\/p>\n
But what will that interim space actually look like?<\/p>\n
\u201cGorgeous,\u201d Bessire said. \u201cFantastic. Beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Museum officials haven\u2019t been more specific. They promise that they will be giving the more details soon about their next steps, and they have plans to share regular updates on a website for the project<\/a>.<\/p>\n But for supporters and stakeholders, that information can\u2019t come soon enough. Four months have passed since Greater Portland Landmarks announced that it would end a lawsuit over the demolition of 142 Free St., clearing the way for the museum to proceed.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to see them making more concerted outreach not just to us, but to the community,\u201d said Kate Lemos McHale, executive director of Greater Portland Landmarks.<\/p>\n \u2018RESPECTING THE PROCESS\u2019<\/p>\n In 2022, the Portland Museum of Art unveiled a plan for a major expansion<\/a> of its downtown campus, with its centerpiece an \u201carchitecturally significant\u201d building at 142 Free St. The initiative, called \u201cThe PMA Blueprint,\u201d would more than double the museum\u2019s footprint with free galleries, performance space, a photography center and a rooftop terrace. Leaders did not set an official timeline for the project but at one point<\/a> said it would be completed in 2026. The fundraising goal for the project was initially $85 million but quickly grew to $100 million.<\/p>\n The Portland Museum of Art already owned the neighboring property, which they bought in 2019 from the Children\u2019s Museum and Theatre of Maine. The deal enabled the children\u2019s museum to move to its current location on Thompson\u2019s Point, and opened the door for the art museum to expand.<\/p>\n To enable new construction, the museum asked the city to remove a historic designation that prevented the demolition of the existing building. That was nearly two years ago \u2014 and the debate that followed was bruising and divisive. When the Portland City Council ultimately agreed to the change, Greater Portland Landmarks sued the city<\/a>. A judge ultimately sided with the city and the museum, and the preservation nonprofit decided in April not to appeal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Museum officials said their commitment to the expansion has not wavered, but acknowledged the past two years slowed their momentum.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no doubt that it slowed things on the fundraising side during that period of time,\u201d deputy director Elizabeth Jones said. \u201cBut we intentionally did not push it out as much as we could have. We weren\u2019t like, \u2018Hey, hey guys, look at us! We\u2019re trying to raise all the money for Blueprint!\u2019 when there were questions that were put out into the media and into the public sphere about what we could do with that building. Now that that\u2019s done, now that that\u2019s over, now that there was no standing for that appeal, we can move forward confidently in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n The end of litigation did jumpstart fundraising: In the last three months, the museum raised $2.5 million to push the campaign total over $50 million so far.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat funder would give to a project with uncertainty about whether or not it\u2019s going to actually happen?\u201d said Erik Hayward, president of the board of trustees. \u201cHaving that cleared really allows us to move forward at the pace that we\u2019ve intended all along.\u201d<\/p>\n But $50 million is still only half of the current goal for the project.<\/p>\n The museum has an architecture firm and a concept design. The next step would be to develop construction plans and apply to the city for site plan review. Officials said they won\u2019t start that step until they have raised a certain amount of money.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s respecting the process,\u201d Bessire said. \u201cYou don\u2019t move into design development and make those investments until every box has been checked.\u201d<\/p>\n HOPING FOR THE BEST<\/p>\n So what is that amount?<\/p>\n Bessire said the board will make that decision. Hayward said the trustees are still deliberating.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t give you a number,\u201d he said. \u201cI can assure you that there will be a threshold at which we\u2019re comfortable proceeding with submitting construction documents.\u201d<\/p>\n Griswold said in May that they have entered \u201can 18-month phase focused on advancing schematic design, engaging the community and building philanthropic momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s the closest the museum has come to putting a timeline on this next phase, but officials have declined to say more about when they will bring plans to the city for review. In June, the museum applied for a demolition permit for 142 Free St.<\/a> They are now going through inspections required by the city to get that permit, and the building could come down this summer or fall. An attorney for the museum previously suggested in public meetings that it would not tear the building down until the city had approved plans for the new wing, but nothing ever came of that proposal.<\/p>\n Museum leaders say the building is sitting idle and underused. Once it\u2019s gone, the property will be converted into a space for outdoor films, music and events. While they initially called the space a \u201ctemporary park,\u201d they\u2019re now describing it as an interim pavilion or a program outpost. They said they will work with arts organizations and community partners to fill the calendar, seeing it as a preview of sorts of the type of events they want to host in the museum\u2019s new wing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe building was never conducive for the mission of the future,\u201d Bessire said. \u201cThis new space would be a way of getting people ready for what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n They also said their plans are a response to the issues they\u2019ve seen in the Arts District, where a working group has been meeting for months to discuss concerns around trash and vacant storefronts. The museum is working with partners from that group to sponsor banners featuring artwork by renowned Maine artists; those will go up on light poles along Congress Street this month.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll feel like an invitation,\u201d Griswold said. \u201cWe hope that domino effect will buoy the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n But the museum\u2019s plans for the interim pavilion space came as a surprise to some people in that neighborhood.<\/p>\n C.J. Opperthauser is the executive director of the Friends of Congress Square Park, a nonprofit that organizes nearly 200 free events and activities in that space every year. He\u2019s also involved in the Arts District working group and is constantly thinking about how to facilitate a public space that is open to all people. The museum\u2019s announcement prompted him to pen an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald<\/a> encouraging people to volunteer and donate to support Congress Square Park.<\/p>\n \u201cI was at first surprised and concerned that people\u2019s energy and resources were not going toward the already existing public spaces,\u201d Opperthauser said.<\/p>\n He later met with museum officials to learn more about their plans and discuss possibilities for collaboration. He said he\u2019s feeling optimistic about their ideas \u2014 and the expansion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vision that they have for their new expansion will add a lot to the neighborhood, and I would suspect it would bring more people into our space and make it more vibrant,\u201d he said. \u201cAssuming they are going forward with putting down the temporary park, that\u2019s better than it being completely blank or a parking lot. But we\u2019re watching from the other side of the street, just observing and hoping for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n LOOKING AHEAD<\/p>\n Greater Portland Landmarks sent a letter to the museum asking them to hold off on demolition until construction is ready to begin. Lemos McHale said she has been in touch with the PMA about their steps to document the building and salvage materials. Griswold said that the staff is actively responding to requests from individuals about specific items.<\/p>\n