Home » Staying power: Portland hotel developers try to catch market on an upswing
Staying power: Portland hotel developers try to catch market on an upswing
The new kids on the block are raring to go — three upscale downtown Portland hotels opening this year. Together they’ll add 394 new rooms, bringing the city’s total to 3,415, including bed-and-breakfasts.
First out of the gate are the Canopy Portland Waterfront and Aloft Hotel Portland, both on Commercial Street, followed later in the year by Shipyard Brewing Co.’s Cambria Hotel Portland Old Port, frequently referred to as a “brewtel.”
Though the newly built establishments will debut at a precarious time for tourism and hospitality after last year’s pandemic pummeling, their backers are convinced of their staying power — and Portland’s lasting luster.
“We’re very bullish on Portland in general, and Commercial Street is the place to be,” says David Leatherwood, CEO of Norwich Partners LLC, the New England- and Florida-based hotel development and investment firm behind the Aloft. Adjacent to a mixed-use project at the former Rufus Deering Lumber site, it’s set to open in May. That puts it in the heart of a downtown building boom that goes well beyond hotels.
“It certainly conveys to the traveler, ‘I’m in the right place, surrounded by construction and new development,’” he says.
Fathom Cos. President Jim Brady has a similar view, after securing one of the peninsula’s last big buildable lots, also on Commercial Street, for the Canopy.
Still a beehive of activity in late March with Cianbro workers installing interior fittings, it’s slated to open this spring at a date to be determined.
“We feel optimistic,” Brady says. “It’s nice to be able to open into the strength of this summer, when people feel ready to travel again.”
The new kids on the block are raring to go — three upscale downtown Portland hotels opening this year. Together they’ll add 394 new rooms, bringing the city’s total to 3,415, including bed-and-breakfasts.