details released on Parade Mall redevelopment plan

What’s in a name? In the case of Portwalk, the newly named mixed-use development project that will replace Parade Mall in Portsmouth, there’s a lot in a name—including boutique shops, cafés, restaurants, residences, office space and an extended-stay hotel.

Cathartes Private Investments, the Boston-based company in charge of the project, announced the official name last week. The company also unveiled a Portwalk brand image that will be included on all signage and marketing materials related to the project.

Cathartes has received approvals for the architectural design and site plan for Portwalk, to be located between Hanover and Deer streets and abutting Maplewood Avenue. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2008.

The redevelopment project calls for the existing Parade Mall structure to be torn down and replaced with four new buildings and a 350-car underground parking garage. Each building will have retail space on the ground level, creating between 15 and 20 new shops, cafés and restaurants.

One of the buildings will include 28 residences with one, two or three bedrooms. Two of the other buildings will offer a combined 160,000 square feet of office space. The fourth building will include a 128-room extended stay hotel.

Portwalk is one of several major development projects aimed at revitalizing the city’s Northern Tier and creating an inviting “gateway” to downtown. Connecting the four buildings will be a boardwalk with a one-way vehicular thoroughfare and wide brick sidewalks, featuring trees, flowers, outdoor café seating and storefront access. The design is meant to extend the pedestrian connection between the Northern Tier and downtown.

Cathartes principal Jeff Johnston said Portwalk will provide a number of financial and lifestyle benefits for the Northern Tier community, and several city officials took time to shower the project with praise in statements released last week, touting it as an aesthetic and economic boon that will help propel ongoing efforts to turn the city into a massive haven for tourists.

“Portwalk is an innovative development which will strengthen and connect the downtown business community, creating more than 800 permanent, new jobs, at least 650 of which will be professional jobs,” said Doug Bates, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

City Manager John Bohenko said Portwalk will be a major draw for businesses, residents and tourists. “We are pleased to continue our goal of revitalizing the city’s Northern Tier,” Bohenko said. “We are encouraged by the positive economic development in this area of the city, which will serve as a catalyst for further investment.”

New Hampshire-based company Cushman & Wakefield is in the process of marketing and leasing commercial space at the site. Executive director Thomas Farrelly said the space will offer a more affordable alternative to the Boston area, giving new companies an opportunity to establish a presence in Portsmouth.