Planning Board holds workshop on proposed 3,300-seat Portland Music Hall at 385 Congress; traffic and parking remain open issues

The City of Portland Planning Board hosted a workshop on May 27, 2025, for a proposed 3,300-seat, approximately 65,000-square-foot music venue at Lot 3 of the 385 Congress Street subdivision. The applicant is Portland Music (Portland Music Holdings LLC), represented by Sebago Technics and Live Nation New England; Live Nation said it intends to operate the venue. City staff and the applicant focused the session on transportation and pedestrian access, and staff said that no formal decisions would be made at the workshop.

What was presented: City staff (Taylor) summarized the project and the status of the traffic-movement-permit (TMP) process. The venue would sit in the B3 downtown business zone on a roughly 38,000-square-foot lot currently occupied by single-story commercial buildings and a public parking lot. The applicant described a design with active ground-floor frontage, an on-site bus and trailer parking area sized for two tractor trailers and four buses, and no on-site patron parking. The applicant told the board they have preliminary, negotiated agreements with two nearby garages (Temple Street and Custom House) to provide roughly 1,300 dedicated parking spaces on event nights at discounted event rates, and they identified approximately five garages within a 0.4-mile radius totaling about 2,800 spaces.

Traffic, TMP process and counts: The city held a TMP scoping meeting on May 13; staff asked the applicant to provide additional parking-occupancy and traffic-count data, including counts taken during a Merrill Auditorium event. Staff requested a complete Section 7 traffic study (counts from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. during an event night) before TMP approval. The applicant reported estimates that the venue's PM peak (11 p.m. to midnight) could generate roughly 1,140 passenger-car-equivalent trips and an AM peak of approximately 30 trips between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.; staff and the applicant will refine those numbers after the new counts.

Mitigations and outstanding issues: Staff recommended, and the board discussed, several transportation and public-right-of-way topics: (1) relocating overhead utilities underground along Cumberland Avenue as the applicant had earlier proposed (the applicant most recently indicated poles would remain in place and staff noted potential sidewalk obstructions); (2) a designated rideshare pick-up/drop-off zone (city and applicant discussed options along Cumberland or Pearl); (3) a designated bus/trailer staging plan and loading-zone management; (4) coordination with Metro on later evening transit service and a possible future bus stop on the project frontage for bi-directional Route 8 service; and (5) potential extension of on-street time restrictions (staff asked whether extending hourly limits to 8 p.m. on nearby streets to protect resident parking would be supported).

Construction staging and public comments: The applicant outlined construction staging challenges. The project team said underground utility work in Pearl Street could require a temporary closure of Pearl for about four weeks, and erection of steel could require use of a crane in Pearl Street for about seven weeks unless alternate staging is agreed with adjacent property owners. Several public commenters, including Anastasia Contos and the Top of the Old Port's representatives, urged the board and applicant to limit Pearl Street closures, to maintain at least one travel lane through the corridor during construction and to restrict truck/tractor-trailer maneuvers to off-peak hours because Pearl is a heavily used route to the Old Port. Top-of-the-Old-Port counsel asked that closures not be imposed without a binding agreement because that lot depends on Pearl Street access for customers and deliveries.

Public comment and support: Dozens of written comments were on file; during the workshop speakers were split. Several business owners, hotel and hospitality representatives and residents spoke in support of the project, citing year-round economic activity, hotel occupancy and downtown vibrancy. Others, including nearby property owners and the operator of an adjacent parking facility, urged stronger commitments on construction staging, bus/truck maneuvering, utility work and preservation of through access on Pearl Street during construction.

Next steps and board guidance: No decision was made. Staff asked the applicant to complete and submit the Section 7 traffic study with the requested evening counts, to refine parking-occupancy data for the identified garages, and to provide a final TMP including event-management and curbside management plans, bus and truck turning templates, and clearer rideshare and drop-off plans. Board members asked staff and the applicant to (a) continue coordination with Metro about later-night service and the feasibility of a bus stop on the project frontage, (b) explore whether traffic-impact fees could be directed to transit improvements, (c) pursue a final stance on undergrounding utilities, and (d) consider on-street parking-rule changes to protect neighborhood residential parking on event nights. Staff and the applicant will return with the Section 7 TMP and any recommended code or permit conditions for later review.

Quotes "This is a major site plan application and is subject to the B3 design standards and is required to obtain a traffic movement permit," city planner Taylor said, describing the regulatory hurdles and the purpose of the workshop. "We're pleased to be here to present what we believe is a very exciting project for the city and the region," said Todd Golden Park introducing the applicant team and Live Nation representatives. "We have submitted sections 1 through 6 of our TMP application and are working on the Section 7 traffic study," the applicant's consultant said, noting additional counts will be taken during a Merrill event.

Ending: Staff directed the applicant to return with the completed Section 7 traffic study, refined parking-occupancy evidence and a final TMP and event-management plan; until the TMP is complete the board will not approve a traffic movement permit or final site-plan clearance for construction.