From my perspective, the defeat of the proposal to acquire and renovate the Portland Public Market building was a golden opportunity lost to the people of Portland. I continue to believe that the project strength was expressed best in the focus on downtown users and uses, the tremendous efficiency and inspirational aspects of the building and the economic development opportunity for the City that was associated with the redevelopment of Monument Square. But the project was not “sound bitable” and I am reminded by Thursday’s editorial in the Portland Press Herald (http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=113597&ac=PHedi ) that certain facts never quite became ingrained in the debate. The statement that we are now “not losing some 20,000 square feet of space that the market move entailed” continues to be inacurrate.
The above statement of “loss” applies if one intends to simply replicate what exists now. We were never able to effectively communicate to voters that it was about transformation of the library system as well as the users of the downtown location. In fact, there was 14% more space at the Market building versus the same Monument Square service areas. That would have led to much higher lending, more people through the door and a more enjoyable work environment and user experience. The minimum total square footage that the library would have had at the conclusion of the project would have been 85,000 sq. feet (58,000 in the market building and 27,000 in the basement of Monument Sq.) versus 78,000 sq. ft currently which is a 10% increase.
The PPL system will set a direction sometime in the next few weeks based on our available funds and a reconsideration of our past and current planning including what people have told us about their wishes. We then must get on with the business of improving our ability to deliver better service and make the experience at each our six locations the best it can possibly be. It’s time to move on.
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