PORTLAND, Maine — A proposal to layer the privately owned House Island — “Portland’s Ellis Island” — with historical protections has taken another step forward.
The Portland Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to recommend to the City Council that the island be designated as a local historic district, according to The Forecaster.
The step could have implications for the Portland Harbor island’s new private owners, who have said they hope to redevelop the 24-acre property and worry the designation could add new challenges to that effort.
House Island is home to the remains of Fort Scammel, the only Casco Bay fort to exchange fire with the British during the War of 1812. The island also was described by the organization Greater Portland Landmarks as “Portland’s Ellis Island,” where for three decades in the early 20th century, a U.S. Immigration Service Quarantine Station there served as an alternative immigrant landing place to New York’s more famous welcoming post.
According to a report on the property submitted to the city by Ttl Architects, the island was also likely home to hunting and fishing encampments by Indians thousands of years ago, and records indicate Europeans settled there as early as 1623.
Earlier this year, Portland developer Michael Scarks purchased the island for $2.5 million after six decades of ownership by the Cushing family. In October, the Portland Press Herald reported Scarks then sold the northern part of the island to Christina and Vincent Mona.
Both property owners on the island reportedly plan to build new structures or renovate old ones, projects that are not prohibited in a designated historic district, but which will undergo additional — and potentially time-consuming — scrutiny by the city’s Historic Preservation Board.
That board voted to support the designation last month.
While many residents of Casco Bay islands submitted letters to the Historic Preservation Board backing the historic district distinction — citing the need to protect the fort and immigration station remains — some opposed it, questioning the timing of the proposal and saying it’s unfair to the developers.
“The petition to designate House Island as a historic district is totally unnecessary and shortsighted,” wrote one concerned resident, Kelly Butterfield, to the board. “The new owner has no plans to remove or alter Fort Scammel, nor does he have plans for a high-density real estate development. This developer has an outstanding record … of doing good things in the city, including renovating a number of older buildings [such as] the Nissen bakery on Washington Avenue and the former Maine National Bank building on Exchange Street.
“Allowing a designation that would limit and restrict a private developer’s vision and investment is sending a terrible message to others who want to invest in, improve and upgrade properties around the city,” she continued.
With the approval of the Portland Planning Board, the historic district designation will be sent to the City Council for final approval.
David Harry of The Forecaster contributed to this story.
