One finalist will present their redesign proposal for a memorial to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to the public and the MLK Memorial Selection Committee during a meeting tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 3, at 5:30 PM in Room 209 of City Hall. 

Two finalists were chosen to move forward with a redesign phase after submitting initial designs in November. The Committee was expected to meet on February 6, but the meeting was postponed due to a storm. The two teams chosen were Robert Katz and TJD&A Landscape Architects. TJD&A withdrew from the competition in February ahead of the planned meeting. 

The memorial is intended to inspire visitors to reflect on Dr. King’s life and the values he espoused, prompting everyone to consider how they can contribute to realizing his vision of an equitable and fair society. 

To review the process materials, please visit https://www.portlandmaine.gov/2460/MLK-Memorial-Selection-Committee. The March 3 meeting will be live-streamed on the City’s website at portlandmaine.gov/livestream and on the City’s Facebook page. 

About the Process

The MLK Recognition Task Force was appointed to consider how best to recognize and acknowledge Dr. King’s life and work. The Task Force determined it was best to site a memorial in an open area on the Bayside Trail located in the West Bayside neighborhood. 

The City Council’s Sustainability & Transportation Committee established the MLK Memorial Selection Committee to oversee the RFQ and RFP process. The Committee will make a recommendation back to the S&T Committee at the conclusion of the process. The S&T Committee will then send a formal recommendation to the full City Council. 

The MLK Memorial Selection Committee issued an RFQ in May 2019 to seek interested applicants for the creation of a memorial. The submissions were due at the end of June 2019, and nine submissions were received. The Committee met on July 22 to review the submissions and in August chose three finalists to move forward with the RFP phase. On November 14, the three finalists presented their designs. The Committee then met on November 19 to deliberate. The City has allocated $100,000 for the creation of the memorial.