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Portland officials preview development, river‑access grant and water project timeline
Summary
First Selectman Mike Pelton outlined town development and infrastructure updates: Brener Place’s third building and rooftop restaurant, Jersey Mike’s opening, a Nordic Spa hiring timeline, a $300,000 river‑access grant used for construction, and a new well at Route 17 aimed to come online in about 18 months.
First Selectman Mike Pelton used the podcast to outline a string of development and infrastructure updates for Portland, including residential and commercial projects, a river‑access grant and a multi‑year water well plan.
Pelton said the third apartment and assisted‑living building at Brener Place is due to start foundations by the end of summer and will include a rooftop restaurant. He said Jersey Mike’s should open in about 65 days and that resident amenities at Brener Place — including a pool — will open soon.
On the Quarry and Nordic Spa developments, Pelton said the spa is targeting a November opening and will begin local hiring and in‑person interviews over the summer. He described the Quarry area as a developing village‑style site and said some businesses plan to use space in Brener Place for operations.
Pelton said the town received a $300,000 state grant for a river landing project and that roughly $220,000 of that was used for construction work. He used the grant example to illustrate budget tradeoffs, saying the cost of placing two special‑education students outside town can equal a significant local project: "Two students at his side to equal a whole project that we're going to have access to a river," he said, adding an estimated special‑education outlay of "$150 to $200,000 each." The figures were presented as examples of budget pressures rather than formal per‑student entitlements.
On water infrastructure, Pelton reported that an engineer is designing a building to serve a new well at the Route 17 park and that the town is aiming for about a year and a half to have water flowing to support additional development along Route 66. He said lack of water has been a key constraint on development in sections of town and that the well project, if successful, could unlock additional commercial projects along the corridor.
Pelton also noted the town is reviewing zoning after an application for another gas station drew local attention and said officials will consider zoning changes to manage future retail development.
He closed by encouraging volunteers to help with Main Street beautification and said the town will host a river‑access opening and paddling this coming Saturday.
The updates were presented as status reports; no formal planning approvals or votes were recorded during the podcast.
