PORTLAND, Maine — After many meetings, proposals, and public comments, the path appeared to clear for Northeastern University's Roux Institute to build a new campus on the Portland waterfront.
On Tuesday night, the city's planning board voted to approve the school's proposal to develop the site of the former B&M Baked Beans factory—a company that began producing canned foods in Portland in 1867.
The board first heard from a full meeting room, overflow room, and Zoom lobby of people offering comment. Most said they welcomed Roux to town and appreciated things like a publicly accessible wharf and bike paths. But, with a 625-bay parking garage in the works, many are also worried about the traffic the campus is expected to bring to the neighborhood just north of the Portland peninsula.
"I just fear it's gonna turn into a parking lot," board member David Silk said about Veranda Street and its nearby offshoots.
Silk said any developing city faced traffic growth along major arteries, but that Veranda is a tight, two-lane street and the only road out of the campus.
School representatives, including Margaret Angell, said they are here to attract talent to Maine and keep it here.
"What we do is focus on the people of Maine and bringing new talent to Maine in order to help us build new businesses, support the businesses that are here and, frankly, adapt and revolutionize what we can do in order to take advantage of all of the opportunities that are available through technology, data science, life sciences," Angell told the board during her presentation. "And ensure that this community—our community here—has access to all of that."
The Roux Institute currently rents space in Portland's Old Port and plans to open the new permanent campus in 2027.