Rendering courtesy of Roux Campus Portland
The Roux Campus will be a hub for learning, collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to promote experiential education, stimulate Maine's economy and enrich the lives of the community through the resources it offers.
The developers of Northeastern University's new Roux Institute campus on the Portland, Maine, waterfront have released their latest plans to account for sea level rise, storm surge and other impacts from climate change at the site of the former B&M Baked Bean factory.
The existing pier, for example, will be replaced and made higher, Tim Mansfield, an architect with CambridgeSeven in Cambridge, Mass., told the Portland Planning Board Feb. 13.
"The pier itself is elevated to a [12.8-ft.] elevation, which is approximately 3 ft. higher than it is today," he explained. "We're starting to accommodate already for coastal storms."
The former cannery building will be converted to office space, but the developers acknowledged the first floor of the old factory will be vulnerable to flooding, reported Maine Public Radio, and nonessential services, such as indoor bike storage, will be located there.
The latest plans for the first phase of the project call for a 238,000-sq.-ft. academic building, a parking garage with 625 spaces, and a daycare center that would serve 50 children.
The first blueprints to build the graduate campus and research center began about a year before the Roux Institute in Portland was announced in January 2020, along with a $100 million gift from technology entrepreneur and Maine native David Roux and his wife, Barbara.
They joined with Boston's Northeastern University to ignite their vision of a Portland-based hub to educate generations of talent for the digital and life sciences sectors and create innovative ideas through research.
The university noted in an earlier news release that the integrated Roux Institute campus plan would include a variety of buildings to be developed in phases as the center grows. Among the buildings are academic spaces for learning and research, new business and startup incubation space, and collaborative facilities for Roux's partners.
In response to demand, the development will also include housing to support Roux's students, faculty and staff.
"The people who are working in the institute — the learners, the partners, the researchers and the entrepreneurs — need a campus that's integrated and that can meet their needs for constant collaboration and convenience," Chris Mallett, Roux's chief administrative officer, told the Portland Planning Board in 2022. "That's how we believe change and innovation happens: By connecting people with one another.
"We're excited about the plan because we think it gives us the best prospects to do just that — and also to attract experts from around the world to join us at the Roux Institute campus and participate in the process."
Roux Institute Designed With Clear Goals in Mind
Mansfield explained in 2022 that the proposed campus is designed around four principles:
- A connection to the waterfront, Portland, and the world. The plans include three public acres of waterfront parkland and a restoration of the historic bean factory, which ended production in 2021. Land on the edge of the campus has been reserved for a potential freeway exit in case the growth of the institute results in traffic that exceeds expectations.
- Places to gather. The center of the campus will be a pedestrian zone with a bike path that circles the site, while other features include a public cafe, seating along the waterfront and a dock. The two tallest buildings, which have been relocated to the center of campus, will serve as hotel and campus housing (the latter of which may be available for rent to the general public based on student demand).
- A sustainable and resilient campus. Roux has developed a sustainable charter that includes seawater heat exchange, green roofs, and geothermal energy.
- An integrated landscape. The campus will make use of stone, granite, brick, copper and other materials that have traditionally defined Maine's largest city.
"We're reclaiming a wasteland of tarmac and industrial buildings," Mansfield added. "This is an opportunity to create a landscape that's welcome to all, that supports the diversity of activities, and feels like it's part of Portland."
In addition, much of the site will be restored to its natural state while the rest of the property is geared to driving the institute's mission to empower the tech industry in Maine.
MaineDOT to Conduct Traffic Study at Roux Site
Roux Institute is currently housed 2 mi. away from the new site on the shores of Portland's Casco Bay in 44,000 sq. ft. of space operated by WEX, a founding corporate partner of the research center.
The Institute for Digital Engineering and Life Sciences (IDEALS), a nonprofit formed to create a permanent site for the Roux, announced in 2021 that it had purchased the new waterfront property. IDEALS will finance and manage construction of the new campus before ownership is transferred to Northeastern.
Although the majority of residents in the area are supportive of the new project, neighbors close to the proposed site of the Roux campus told Maine Public Radio that they are concerned about traffic and parking in the area, particularly when school lets out in the afternoons.
The station learned from city planners and developers that the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) will conduct a traffic study of the area around the proposed campus and will consider a possible off-ramp from Interstate 295 to the site.
The new plans also call for a METRO bus stop on campus as well as a new park, and pedestrian and bike pathways along the waterfront.
"Connection to the city's most prominent trails is a massive asset in the Roux campus, and as a runner, a stroller pusher, and a paddler, I'm just super excited for the access to the perimeter trail," said Nick Littlefield, one of several Portland residents who applauded the plans for public pedestrian access.
Roux Institute's developers also said they are considering off-site park-and-ride options with a shuttle to and from the campus.
The Portland Planning Board is expected to host additional workshops on the Roux Institute's proposals, Maine Public Radio noted Feb. 14.
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