A message from the Yard South Yeam:

On November 5th, 2024, we withdrew the Yard South Zoning Application to create a vibrant, climate-resilient neighborhood on South Portland’s Eastern Waterfront. Our rezoning application was submitted on July 31, 2024, to align the former Liberty Shipyard site with South Portland’s Comprehensive Plan.

“When we acquired the 30-acre property six years ago we had many options for development under the current zoning,” explained Jennifer Packard, of PK Realty Management. “However, the city encouraged us to pursue the vision outlined in its Comprehensive Plan, which called for changing the zone to include residential uses. Since we submitted the application a few months ago, it has become clear that city and council leadership just isn’t ready to bring this vision forward, so we withdrew our zone change application and are pursuing other options.”

South Portland’s zoning ordinance dates back to 1975 and has not been comprehensively updated since. It would be great to see the City take the initiative, to give both the community and future developers the certainty they need to expand the tax base and create more opportunities to build desperately needed housing. 

The good news is that through our outreach, we’ve met thousands of people in South Portland and throughout the state like YOU who share our commitment to addressing the housing shortage and we hope to continue that momentum. 

As for the future of the Shipyard property? We are not announcing our plans yet, stay tuned…

Sincerely,

Jen, David, Amy, and Kristen