Merrill’s Wharf
The Merrill’s Wharf building on Portland’s historic waterfront is a 100,000 S.F., 5 story structure that was built as the home of the Twitchell Champlin Company – a wholesale grocer that used the building as a warehouse, spice mill, candy factory, and cannery in the late 1800’s. The project involves renovating the building to convert it into a Class A office building.
While the building is rich in historic character with exposed brick walls and wood timber framed floors, it suffered from the long term effects of water infiltration, foundation failures and exterior masonry deterioration. Also, as it sits on an old wharf along the water, the underlying soils are very poorly suited for supporting a building. The renovations include the addition of new elevator and stair shafts that are supported on drilled mini piles and extensive masonry restoration work to stabilize the exterior envelope. All new HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and life safety systems were installed as well as, new windows, roof- ing, and insulation.
The project utilized State and Federal Historic Tax Credits and received an Honor Award for Excellence in Historical Adaptive Reuse from Maine Preservation.