Wishcamper Center has Grand Opening on October 16

Over 200 people, including Maine politicians, helped to open the new Wishcamper Center at USM on October 16, 2008.  The new center houses the Muskie School of Public Policy and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The Wishcamper building is one of the projects that Wright-Ryan is doing for USM’s University Commons in addition to the Osher Map Library expansion and renovation, Glickman Library renovations and significant sitework in order to create a cohesive campus community. The building has been submitted for approval as a LEED Gold building.  The four-story, 59,000 square feet facility incorporates a curtainwall system and state of the art, energy efficient mechanical systems and geothermal in addition to a green roof. The architect was Koetter Kim & Associates, Inc.

Carbon Collaborations

I came across another blog that contains contains commentary about carbon and the quest for reduction.  Check out the terrablog.  It is hosted by TerraPass, a non-profit founded by a UPenn professor, that finances projects utilizing solar, wind and biomass projects.  Impressive collaberations include their recent partnership with the Ford Motor Company.  Ford will now calculate the amount of CO2 produced by the consumer and suggest an amount to invest in renewable energy sources in order to offset their vehicle's carbon.  Businesses being proactive is a good step in the right direction.
On that note, I attended the Governor's Carbon Challenge reception this week with many other businesses leaders and individuals with sincere concern for the well-being of future generations.  I was impressed with their aggressive commitments to reduce their carbon footprint and emissions.  There are more than 50 businesses in the State, large and small, committed to this challenge.  It's a solid start by our State to address a global concern.

Famous Painters Work Revived

Wright-Ryan had the privilege of working on a home listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The home, named for Harrison B. Brown, was originally built in mid-eighteen hundreds.  As construction progressed on this project, we discovered the paint detail, as seen in the photo, was covered by other layers of paint.  After carefully removing the layers, we were able to restore the ceiling to its original brilliance.  Here's the interesting part-  Harrison Bird Brown was known for his marine paintings, focusing on the Casco Bay region.  He began his career working for ship painters and later had his own sign shop.  Coincidence?  I can only assume that part of the historical significance of this home might be the intricate paintings throughout the ceilings of the home.  I could be wrong, but it makes a nice story.   

Tranforming the City Landscape

Have you seen the commotion on Congress Street?  The project at 490 Congress Street in Portland, designed by Jim Sterling, is a complete interior demolition and renovation from an old department store into 23 condominiums that will range in price from $199,000-$683,000.  There will be 3 commercial units at street level.  This project is also known as "Kimball Court" and will be one of the first high-end condominium buildings since the buzz about town for more condos.  As I toured the property, I did notice the great views from the upper deck.  A bit of information, because of the additional three stories being added, the soils beneath the structure would not sustain the additional loads.  This meant that Wright-Ryan had to alter the existing structure with conventional framing and grade beams to support the extra weight. The project is scheduled to be complete in July 2006 and I can't wait to see how it changes the face of Congress Street!

YMCA Opens Its Doors!

The ribbon-cutting at the Cumberland County YMCA Single Resident apartments took place Thursday, January 19th in Portland.  Program representatives included Avesta Housing, rental managers, Maine State Housing, project lenders, CWS Architects, and several YMCA supporters and employees.

The project began with demolition of an apartment building in March 2005 on High Street, a busy arterial through way in Portland.  The site had very limited lay-down space and was a challenging project because of the tight budget.  The new building is a four floor, block and plank apartment building that will accommodate 32 residents at the rate of $510 per month, utilities included.  (The average rent for an efficiency apartment in Portland is $700.) 

The construction of the new apartments was designed by CWS Architects and is part of more improvements happening at the Portland Y.  Currently, Wright-Ryan is finishing the new entry way to the facilities. 

Congratulations to the Portland YMCA from everyone at Wright-Ryan!