Portland public works employees are getting ready to remove the landmark Miss Portland Diner from its Marginal Way lot, possibly as soon as next week.

Preparation started Monday with demolition of the masonry kitchen and office addition to the rear of the 56-year-old diner, said Public Works Director Michael Bobinsky.

The diner will be shrink-wrapped, like a boat, and moved to the former F.W. Webb parking lot on Pearl Street. It will be stored there, behind a chain-link fence, until city officials find a permanent storage site.

The diner must be moved because the land has been sold to developer Theodore West. He plans to construct an office building at Marginal Way and Hanover Street - one of several projects linked to Bayside's redevelopment.

Moving the diner will cost $12,000 - a bill that Portland taxpayers will pay unless city officials are able to sell the eatery and work out a deal with the future owner.

"The goal of the City Council has been that we should try to find a way to preserve the diner and keep it in Bayside," said City Manager Joseph Gray Jr.

Miss Portland's former owner, Randall Chasse, gave the authentic Worcester Dining Car to the city in March 2004 after trying several times to sell it himself.

City officials have talked with several interested buyers since then, coming close to signing contracts with a few would-be owners. Still, the city's effort faced a variety of financial and logistical challenges. Portland officials recently decided to put the diner in storage until they can strike a solid deal.

Gray said several people remain interested in operating the diner, but no contract is pending.

The former parking lot is where the Bayside Neighborhood Association is storing an 1857 Greek Revival-style house that was moved from Mechanic Street to make way for the 94-unit Waterview condominium project on Cumberland Avenue.

The association plans to move the house to a lot at Myrtle and Oxford streets, with financial backing from the city and Waterview's developer, Jeffrey Cohen.

Originally published online here: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/050901diner.shtml