The village of Berwick, nestled in the southwestern corner of York County, is seeing a building boom that will add a total of 265 housing units and 30 commercial spaces to the downtown, along with a new “Main Street” at the project’s center.
The Edge at Berwick is being developed and built by Gorham-based Great Falls Construction, on an eight-acre parcel across from town hall which was once home to Prime Tanning. The project could fill a need for housing both for employees at the Pratt Whitney plant next door in North Berwick and for commuters to the growing cities of Somersworth, Rochester and Dover just over the New Hampshire border.
“The Edge at Berwick is a unique development opportunity in one of Maine’s Village centers where the former mill once served as a large employer and economic center. Once the mill closed, that economic vibrancy changed,” Great Falls’ managing director Julie Curran told Mainebiz.
“We seek to create a vibrant space that enhances the sense of place and creates a space for all to live, work and play.”
The project is being developed in six stages, with 41 market-rate apartments and 12 commercial spaces in five buildings already completed and occupied. Within the next five years, seven total buildings will be completed.
Curran said the company purchased the parcel in the fall of 2019, after the former tannery property had been identified as a brownfields site and had undergone remediation. The plant closed in 2009.
The first building to be completed in 2022 was a renovation of one of the tannery buildings at 12 Sullivan St., which now houses eight retail businesses. All of the additional buildings are new construction.
Great Falls will add to the eight-acre parcel the parking lot next door at 34 Sullivan St. for a total of 11 acres in the complex once it’s completed.
Phase one sitework was performed by South Berwick-based SJ Cantwell Inc. Sebago Technics, which has offices in South Portland, Sanford and Bridgton, is the project’s civil engineer. Designers have included Portland-based Ryan Senatore Architects and Durham, N.H.-based Isaak Design PLLC. Structural Integrity, located in Portland, has handled structural engineering for all buildings to date.
Commercial tenants so far include both a dental and a beauty salon, a fitness center, a golf simulator, a daycare, butcher shop, chiropractor, esthetician, an Aroma Joe’s, a sandwich shop and Domino’s.
