Portland's Waterfront Concerts could move to Westbrook's Rock Row development
Photo / Maureen Milliken
The Main Street, Westbrook, entrance of the site where Waterstone Property Group plans a mixed-use development. The Westbrook Planning Board is reviewing a request from Rock Row developer Waterstone Property Group to allow construction of a temporary amphitheater on the site, which could set the stage for Portland's Waterfront Concerts to move there.
The Westbrook Planning Board is reviewing a request from Rock Row developer Waterstone Property Group to allow construction of a temporary amphitheater.
The Forecaster reported that if the request is approved concert promoters Live Nation and Waterfront Concerts would move concerts from the Maine State Pier in Portland to the inland Rock Row venue. Attorney Jim Katsiaficas told the board the arrangement would last five years, beginning next spring if approved. The proposed venue’s capacity of 8,000 is about the same capacity as Thompson’s Point in Portland, which is operated on a "scalable" basis, from 3,000 to 8,000 per each event to allow for the best possible experience for patrons.
Portland City Manager Jon Jennings said that, coupled with the possible departure of the Cat ferry to Bar Harbor, the move could be an opportunity to look at redevelopment around the pier and terminal.
The Rock Row project is slated to be developed on 100 acres bordered by the Maine Turnpike, Larrabee Road and Main Street that have been empty for several years. If all goes as planned, within a few years the site that spreads from Westbrook into Portland could have up to 1 million square feet of retail, office, medical and residential space.
The development is expected to meet local needs and be a regional draw, Josh Levy, a principal of Waterstone, told Mainebiz earlier this year. The most solidified plans are for a Market Basket retail area and a retail village area. A feature of the village area will be 25,000-square-foot beer and food hall, with an office incubator space on the second floor.
The site is between exits 47 and 48 on Interstate 95. Needham, Mass.-based Waterstone owns more than 9 million square feet of retail space at more than 65 properties.
According to the Rock Row website, plans for the development include 450,000 square feet of retail space, the 25,000-square-foot “brewplex” and food hall, a concert venue with a capacity of 8,200 people, a 26-acre “recreational quarry” and the 80,000-square-foot “state of the art” Market Basket.
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