6 minute read
Real Estate: God's Little Acre - 'Parking Condos.
REAL ESTATE
The Gateway parking garage near the Sonesta Hotel, Forest Avenue, Portland.
Rhonda Farnham
GOD'S LITILEACRE
WOULD YOU PAY $10,000 FOR YOUR OWN PARKING SPACE?
It'sa frenzy. Presaged by a storied wave of purchases in Beacon Hill in Boston, the hottest little tickets in real estate this summer are parking spaces in Portland, yours for $1 0,000 and up.
We have been amused to learn that whole new portfolios are being developed locally, featuring identical rows of 9' x 19' macadam expanses, and that you and your heirs can be backed by local banks in the pursuit of this newest wrinkle in free enterprise. "It's like buying a C.D.," laughs contractor James Ross of Frye Associates, one of the early investors, who, with financing from People's Heritage, has snapped up 10 miniature pieces of Portland on the first level of The Gateway parking lot near the Sonesta Hotel.
Forever. "Since we didn't know what Pritham Singh was going to do with his Museum Row property on Free Street, we thought it was imperative that we get these spots," he reports. Frye Associates is the group that has restored the Frye Building (also on Free Street and home to exotic hamburgers by Ruby's Choice). "We negotiated with Tim O'Neill of Housing Resources. The Boulos Co. marketed the lots, but we approached them first with the proposal," says Ross. At 1O-percent interest, a $100,000 investment to purchase 10 parking spaces over 20 years could be paid back with roughly $75/month per space, a tidy investment in a year when people are paying as much as $125/ month to park downtown.
And insiders feel this new investment wave is going to sweep through the Forest City: At press time, the Chestnut Street parking garage, the new Casco Bay Ferry Terminal parking authority, and several others were rumored to be pitching woo to dozens of prospective owners of individual lots.
ver
DESIGN. BUILD CONTRACTOR
RESIDENTIAL. INDUSTRIAL. COMMERCIAL
• AIR CONDITIONING • REFRIGERATION • HEAT PUMPS, HEATING • HEAT TRANSFER & RECOVERY • SHEET METAL WE WOULD LIKE TO SERVE YOU
24 HOUR SERVICE 772-8687
7 THOMAS DRIVE, WESTBROOK
TURBO-XE®
IBM XT® COMPATIBLE PERSONAL COMPUTER
• 8088-2 Microprocessor • 4.77 MHz& 7.4 MHz • Turbo Mode LED indicator • 256K RAM-Expandable to 640K on Mainboard • 360K Drive with Controller • 8-Expansion Slots • Keyboard
ALSO AVAILABLE WITH 360K Floppy and 20MB Hard Drive 360K Floppy and 30MB Hard Drive ;Jieeee~ "I GZcltangeStteet
BOX 7481 • 50 EXCHANGE ST.
PORTLAND, ME 04112 (207) n2-8107
Call Business Answers, Maine's Business Information Center. It can provide help in getting the information you'll need to know on license and permit requirements, where to go for a license or permit, or any other business questions you may have.
~~~A~ InformatIon Center 11 Maine State Development Office, State House Station #59, Augusta, Maine 04333 Continued from page 32
promising local bands, and if our music is important to us we will be loyal and vocal in our support. The fact is that Portland holds tremendous promise as a regional music center. Today, 1987, that promise is realized here and there, in scattered locations. What follows is a highly personal and idiosyncratic guide to Portland nightlife, Summer Edition, bands I consider worth seeing, places I consider worth going to. Remember, though, fun is where you find it, labels wash off in the rain, and don't take yourself so bloody serious, okay? It's only Rock and Roll.
To my mind, the band matters more than the place, so always check the listings first - Sweel Polalo is pretty comprehensive. The clubs do have their personalities, though.
The Free Street Pub-Located (more or less) at the corner of Marginal Way and the Franklin Street arterial, this place is a time-warp Rock and Roll PAHTY. Metallic radio rock, 95-percent cover bands, they know what th,eir crowd likes (or demands, really). It's the only room in town set up well for live music. Big dance floor.
The Old Port area is a destination in itself, which can make it difficult for clubs in other parts of town; at this writing there are four places with regular live music. Horsefeathers is at the top of the block on Middle Street, and features entertainment pointedly different from the rest. Most nights are quiet, acoustic solos or small groups; weekends are given over to bands ranging from the hot jazz fusion off Tiger's Baku (June 12-13) to songwriter bands like Devonsquare and Peter Gallway's Proof; Sunday afternoons are for jazz. Can be a good listening room, but no dancing. Good food. .
Moose Alley, situated under Squire Morgan's Restaurant on Milk Street, comprises some of the liveliest and most densely packed real estate in town, with arguably the widest selection of entertainment. From the classic R&B of the Red Lite Revue and Neil & the Nightlifes, and the 1.960s sounds of the Band That Time Forgot and Whitewalls, to the radio rock of Karen Nason and Legend, the Moose covers it all. Walch for this summer's return of 8 to The Bar.
The Old Port Tavern is the ultimate destination for most people from out of town - no cover charge, hundreds of people to bump into, and T op-40 Radio Rockers on stage. The local home of techno-pop, the OPT's best bands are probably Blockyard, a major attraction from Boston, and the Make, new to the area from upstate New York. Panic Station is perhaps the best of thel~cals. A Real Frat Party here, folks.
The Dry Dock on Commercial Street next to Casco Bay Lines is upstairs, funky, kinda run down, and we like it like that. Bands on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only; the music is less slick, more homegrown, and we like it like that, too. Home base for the Kopterz, JenllOns, Vito and the Groove Kings, Broken Men, Mood Elevators, and N.Y.C. faves Mr. Thing. Try Shirley's food downstairs, then sweat it off upstairs.
Downtown Portland has been dead at night for a couple of years now but shows signs of reawakening. Thanks to Geno's on Brown Street, next to Hu Shang, we have a comfortable, low-key spot to see alternative and independent bands, local and national. In their fourth year, Richard Julio books more creatively on less budget than anyone maybe in the history of the world. In any given week, worthies from around the country appear, like the Slickee Boys from D.C., the Wild Seeds from Austin, Cowboy Junkies from Toronto, Boston's surf in' Beachmasters, the veteran Nivaros, or standbys like the Classic Ruins. Geno's is home base to local "indy" -types Ghost Walks, Talisman, the Brood, and founding fathers the Wild Hearts. It's all here: Bubbathrash, dirge, avant, '60s, '70s, neuro-, angst-, and art· rock, from Bangor to Buffalo.
Then there's Raours. Okay, listen up. Head out Forest Avenue from downtown, right? Past Woodford's Corner (that's the one with the Dunkin' Donuts), over the railroad tracks, 1/4 mile on the right, and park with everyone else. Wednesday is R&B with the eight-piece Red Lite Revue, horns, Motown, swing, you'll love it. Sunday is Reggae Night with the Dani Tribesmen, 12 or 13 people on stage, Bob Marley, perfect. In between there's comedy, jazz, rock, blues - eclectic, you understand, occasionally national names, good food, great pool, and Sharon Zacchini loved the atmosphere. What more can you ask for?
Two new places hold a lot of promise and will be going Continued on page 37
