Home of the Roux Institute

Multi-benefit development

After IDEALS identified the former B&M Baked Beans facility as an optimal location, Woodard & Curran collaborated with the project owner, regulators, and the City of Portland to ensure it was a viable candidate for the client’s envisioned reuse and to rezone the property from its historic industrial zoning to an institutional overlay zone. Woodard & Curran coordinated internal and subconsultant expertise to support the development of the long-term vision for the property. Our work as advisors and consultants culminated in a 33-page institutional development plan (IDP) that was approved by the City of Portland and will serve as the guidebook for implementing the long-term vision for the campus.

Stakeholder involvement has been critical to the development of the IDP, allowing the team the opportunity to identify and mitigate community concerns, and optimize positive outcomes. Community input has driven nearly every element of the development plan, from traffic and noise concerns to the question of whether the traditional holiday tree will be lit atop the historic bean factory building (it will).

In addition to authoring the Institutional Development Plan (IDP) and serving as strategic advisor for IDEALS, Woodard & Curran addressed numerous concerns with in-house resources. This included regulatory licensing for the turnover of the facility from B&M to IDEALS, utility coordination, environmental work related to hazardous building materials and site soil management, and permitting with the City of Portland, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the Board of Harbor commissioners, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Environmental support

Woodard & Curran’s remediation group supported IDEALS with pre-purchase environmental due diligence, performed through the lens of beneficial reuse to support decision-making by the development team. Unlike traditional remedial investigations, driven by regulatory factors, the primary goal was to determine whether environmental conditions at the site would be prohibitive to the client’s development goals. Once it was determined that site conditions could be managed to support IDEALS’ vision, the client purchased the property and retained our team to perform more targeted assessment and develop management strategies to protect the environment, site workers, and future users and community members.

Once the project kicked off, we supported the client with two major environmental efforts related to site repositioning. First, we performed hazardous materials assessment and established management protocols. Throughout demolition, we maintained a site presence, ensuring materials were handled and disposed of safely and through appropriate means.

The other significant aspect was soil management, an endeavor we have supported throughout the life cycle of the project. Before excavation could begin on site, Woodard & Curran established in-depth soil management strategy, ensuring safety and compliance while simultaneously minimizing cost and environmental impact.
Due to Maine’s stringent waste regulations, the project team had the additional challenge of a conservative regulatory framework when establishing a management plan for excavated soils. Fortunately, a shared vision for a soil recycling facility came together early in the project timeline. Woodard & Curran supported the permitting for this waste diversion resource, conveniently located just half a mile from the project site. By project completion, we anticipate diverting 20,000 tons of soil to the recycling facility, resulting in approximately $1 million in savings on transportation and disposal expenses.

Ongoing support

Woodard & Curran also provided design and construction phase services to support site demolition activities, while protecting the historic landmark building. We are currently providing consulting services for the first phase of development, including environmental field documentation, resilient design of campus infrastructure, land use permitting, and stormwater conveyance and treatment design utilizing low-impact development practices.