PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 24, 2026
One year after the grand opening of a cold-storage warehouse on Portland’s waterfront, it’s clear the project — promoted aggressively by city officials and by contributions to this opinion section — was misguided. Portland’s last significant parcel of land zoned for the working waterfront — six state-owned acres — is now home to a storage facility that lies mostly empty. The only frozen product featured in a promotional video for this waterfront warehouse? Ice cream. All the empty pallet racks would have come as no surprise if city and state staffers had focused on thoughtful research and dialogue with industry leaders. ~ S. Mark McCain, Portland