🔒A Gorham events center will have traditional look with state-of-the-art amenities

The charitable arm of Gorham-based Shaw Brothers Construction is developing a 9,600-square-foot events venue at 602 Main St./Route 25 in Gorham, targeting a fall opening. Cherry Hill Place was originally conceived to provide a year-round indoor venue for the town’s twice-weekly farmers’ market, which has been held on an unpaved lot on the new building’s site. When the new building opens, it promises to be a state-of-the-art venue not only for the market, but also for weddings and larger events. Lee Pratt, general manager of Gorham-based Shaw Brothers, gave Mainebiz a tour of the property last week. It’s expected to be completed by October and will have capacity for 400 guests. The structure is being built by Gorham’s own Affordable Builders, to replicate an historic stone-faced barn, complete with an attached silo, being built by Limington-based Birds Eye View Construction. But the building’s functionality and amenities are solidly 21st century, and the silo will house some of the center’s extensive mechanical systems — not grain for cows.

The developer, Shaw Brothers Family Foundation, is not sharing project costs, but it appears that the budget is generous and mission-driven — reflecting the families’ long-time commitment to giving back to the community. The building’s soaring interior is authentic post-and-beam construction, erected by Arundel-based R.A. Krouse, with 60-foot-long Douglas fir beams harvested in Washington state and then shipped to Quebec to be kiln-dried.

The venue will be fully climate controlled and energy-efficient; the floor’s radiant heat should keep farmers comfortable on winter market days. A large commercial kitchen is being built out, and a complete audio and video system will facilitate music and presentations. The exterior is being painstakingly clad in stone. A crew from Isaac Labbe Masonry, based in Standish, were puzzling countless numbers of irregularly shaped stones into siding, when we visited.

The project was abuzz with multiple subcontractors. Lewiston’s Custom Metal Roofers and Maine Roofing, based in South Portland, are topping off most of the building, save for the silo and a cupola which are being clad in copper by a team from Buxton-based Daniel T. Allen Roofing & Sheet Metal.

The project manager for the foundation is Robert Kuni, who works for the construction company. The property is adjacent to Sebago Brewing, which Pratt explained will be managing the farmers’ market and all of the events, including overseeing food and beverage service. MK kitchen, which has a full restaurant at 2 School St. in Gorham, will operate an ice cream shop at one end of the building, to be named MILK Ice Cream, and will feature the company’s own creations. And because the developers seem to have thought of everything, the ice cream shop will have customer access both outside and inside the building, so that events can include ice cream dessert service. The Shaw family has deep roots in Gorham and a broad history of philanthropy, locally and regionally. Brothers Jon and Dan Shaw founded the commercial earthworks company Shaw Brothers Construction nearly 50 years ago and more recently started a foundation to preserve farmland and open space. The events center sits on a 300-acre parcel that fronts the Presumpscot River and offers an extensive and much-used public trail system, developed by the Shaw Brothers Family Foundation. The acreage is also home to Cherry Hill Farm, which is raising a small herd of cattle, and to the Gorham Historical Society, which is located in an antique barn that the Shaws moved to the property.

The construction company, with a staff of more than 250, is headquartered on 100 acres in town, owns multiple quarries in the region, and a solar farm on Tory Hill in Buxton. Shaw Brothers ranks No. 5 among the largest Maine-based construction companies, with revenue of $147 million, according to the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists.