Piper Shores retirement community completes $70M Scarborough expansion

Courtesy / Piper Shores A rendering of the newly completed apartment building at Piper Shores.

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Piper Shores completed a $70 million expansion to create an independent-living campus of 45 acres that includes 52 residential units in independent-living, single-family and duplex homes and apartments.

The Meadows is directly across from the original campus of the Scarborough nonprofit retirement community.

A grand opening is scheduled for June 22, from 4-6 p.m. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. Food and beverages will be provided.

Piper Shores is owned and operated by Maine Life Care Retirement Community Inc., a Scarborough nonprofit formed by local individuals to deliver a shared vision of creating an ideal retirement community on the coast of Maine.

The organization built the first Piper Shores facility in 2001, on 138 acres of oceanfront property between Higgins Beach and Prouts Neck in Scarborough. The mission was to provide a retirement community that promotes for the long-term well-being of residents through a continuum of activities and life care services.

The latest campus expansion was designed to meet demand. The 45 acres were purchased in 2019 and designed around a “pocket neighborhood” concept that clusters different residential housing options around shared open spaces.

The property includes 12-plus acres with trails that have been conserved and is open to the public with parking. The new units can accommodate 88 new residents. Amenities include a bar/restaurant, movie theater, wellness center and conference room.

The project encompasses a cluster of eight free-standing “estate” homes that range in size from 1,992 to 2,651 square feet, with up to three bedrooms, den, large open living spaces, two-car garages and second-floor options.

A second cluster has 16 cottage-style homes that range from 1,454 to 1,852 square feet, with two or three bedrooms and two-car garages.

The third cluster encompasses 28 apartments that range from 1,085 to 2,438 square feet, with one- to three-bedroom options and one underground parking space per home.

Residential design features include porches and decks, cathedral ceilings, large windows, walking paths and building orientations designed to minimize car and road visibility and maximize gardens and community green spaces.

Piper Shores is the only nonprofit life care retirement community in Maine and the first to be recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities — the nation’s only accrediting body for continuing care retirement communities.