News

September 18, 2007

For more information contact: Allison Stoddard, (207) 773-3625, astoddard@wright-ryan.com

(Portland) – Wright-Ryan Construction completed construction of the 60,000 square foot office building in a busy historic district in Portland.  Custom House Square offices, developed by Olympia Development, proved to be challenging in the tight urban location.  The new space however will allow for new tenants, Council on International Educational Exchange , to combine their Portland and Boston offices.  CIEE, is very pleased with its new home. "It has met every expectation we may have had about the building and then some," says Steve Trooboff, chief executive officer for CIEE. "To say we're completely wowed would probably be an understatement." 

The project was a challenging one- managing a tight space on a busy roadway.  Wright-Ryan was able to minimize disruption to surrounding businesses and passers-by as well as they could.  The building blends well with the surrounding historical buildings and the attached 1860’s W.L. Blake Building. "Since it’s in an historic district of downtown, the site is very tight- only 10,000 square feet with zero clearance," commented Jim Brady, president of Olympia Development, "And since abutters on both sides are historic structures, we wanted to use complimenting design features.  But we also wanted a building of its own time- a bit more contemporary, not merely trying to mimic the other buildings around it."   

Since the completion of the Custom House building, The Olympia Companies has signed a contract for Wright-Ryan to complete the renovations and construction at The Inn by the Sea on Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth.  The project is estimated at approximately $9 million and involves the updating of the facility into a premier resort and spa by May 2008.  Coincidently, Wright-Ryan worked as a subcontractor during the original construction of the Inn in 1984.      

For more information contact: Allison Stoddard (207) 773-3625, astoddard@wright-ryan.com).