A year after breaking ground, construction is finally picking up steam on the massive Maine International Cold Storage Facility on the Portland waterfront.
Crews began driving piles over the summer and project officials anticipate pouring concrete for the foundation in the coming days, the Portland Press Herald reported Oct. 9.
Tom O'Shaughnessy, co-founder of Amber Infrastructure, the project's developer, told the local news source that his company is anxious to open the facility. Previously slated to open this coming February, the project is now anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.
He said that despite breaking ground in August 2022, the warehouse's design and permitting was not squared away until last winter and spring, which pushed back construction to late June of this year.
Through permitting, the project was redesigned to lower the building height to 55 ft., move refrigeration and mechanical systems to face the port, and modify the Commercial Street frontage, O'Shaughnessy noted.
"At every step of the way we were able to address concerns and improve the building at the same time," he said.
Now that all the preliminary work has been wrapped up, construction is moving ahead as planned, except for a few minor delays caused by underground obstructions at the site, O'Shaughnessy noted. He added that once the foundation is poured, progress should be more visible.
"From here on it will go up pretty quickly," he said.
Officials Believe Project Critical to Maine's Freight Industry
The 107,000-sq.-ft. building, next to the state's sole shipping container terminal, has been touted as critical to expanding freight through Portland and giving Maine food and beverage companies a competitive edge and access to markets.
The new warehouse also is expected to meet the refrigerated cargo demand of Eimskip, an Icelandic shipping company, and be large enough to accommodate customers from Maine as well.
Almost $2 billion in frozen seafood exported from the Eastern Seaboard does not pass through Portland, according to Wade Merritt, president of the Maine International Trade Center. He said during a panel presentation hosted by the Camden Conference last year that he hopes the new cold storage facility will allow Maine to capture some of that market.
In 2021, the state exported about $3 billion in goods.
The warehouse is part of a public-private partnership between the Maine Port Authority, Amber Infrastructure, an international firm headquartered in London, and Treadwell Franklin Infrastructure, a financing company based in Yarmouth, Maine.
In addition, the state contributed $8 million to preparing the property for the construction.
A large rooftop solar array is planned for the project with the goal of generating enough electricity to provide 20 percent of the warehouse's energy use.
Refrigerated storage next to the International Marine Terminal container port will likely draw new customers, including clients of Eimskip, specialists in transporting cold and frozen freight, O'Shaughnessy said.
Since starting trips to Portland in 2013, Eimskip, the sole company landing at the terminal, has increased freight volume by 20 percent on average per year, with almost 38,200 containers crossing the Portland docks in 2021.
Though Eimskip's clients are likely users of the 21,750 pallet-space facility, there will be no reserved space for any user, and Maine companies will be encouraged to take advantage of the infrastructure, according to O'Shaughnessy.
"There is almost an inevitability that the clients Eimskip will bring into the port will use cold storage," he said, but added, "no customers have guaranteed space or priority space in the facility — it's open to everyone."
A cold storage building is the latest in a series of upgrades transforming the container terminal from an abandoned space Portland used for a snow dump to a hive of activity.
Matt Burns, executive director of the Maine Port Authority, told the Press Herald last year that additional investment is planned in coming years to accommodate more containers, allow larger ships and lure shipping companies to port.
The warehouse is part of a public-private partnership between the Maine Port Authority, Amber Infrastructure, an international firm headquartered in London, and Treadwell Franklin Infrastructure, a financing company based in Yarmouth, Maine.
In addition, the state contributed $8 million to preparing the property for the construction.
After Groundbreaking, Work Pushed Until Last Summer
Delays have been nothing new for the Maine International Cold Storage Facility, which has been in the works for nearly eight years but was plagued by fits and starts as well as opposition from local residents.
Plans for the warehouse were approved by the Portland Planning Board nearly three years ago. Since that time, he building price has grown from $30 million to $55 million.
Pandemic disruptions delayed permitting and construction plans, but also demonstrated a continued need for refrigerated storage in Maine, said Burns.
"We have always known there is significant demand for cold chain logistics," he explained. "Cold storage has always been part of the master plan. That demand for food and beverage products and cold storage did not decline and wane during the pandemic, it seemed to get stronger."
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