New 24 Acre Park Coming to North Deering in Portland

Portland has the money, and now plans are in the works for a brand new park!

I had no idea that Portland has a very impressive collection of parks, trails, and open spaces — 67 parks taking up 721 acres. That's 721 acres that condos can't be built on. They are about to add another park, which will be one of Portland's biggest at 24 acres in the North Deering Neighborhood.

MaineBiz noted that with the completion of the North Deering park, Portland will be close to having 100% of all Portland residents live within a 10-minute walk of a public park! That would make Portland a rarity among larger cities. How is this possible? Thorugh a grant.

Portland got a $400,000 federal grant through the U.S. Department of Interior’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program. They will scoop up a couple of properties to create the park, but they didn't say exactly where. But it will be near the Harrison Lyseth Elementary School and the Lyman Moore Middle School.

Portland is super excited about this opportunity to preserve some land for not just families now, but 100 years from now. Plus, having the new North Deering Park near schools will give them chances for outdoor learning and a new public place for kids.

The North Deering neighborhood has been growing and growing. Lots of investment has been made in the area. According to MaineBiz, the boom includes...

$11.75 million sale in 2021 of an office building at 5 Davis Farm Road, the sale earlier this year of a portfolio of three commercial buildings that sold for $8.7 million, the acquisition and planned $10 million renovations of an affordable housing complex called North Deering Gardens, and the planned $42.5 million construction of a nursing home called Fallbrook Care Center.

Such great news for Portland! Bring on the picnic baskets!