Project of the Month: Waterstone Properties Group launches Rock Row – 2 million s/f mixed-use destination

Westbrook, ME Waterstone Properties Group, Inc., a Needham, Massachusetts-based real estate development company, celebrated a recent launch of  Rock Row, the transformative 2 million s/f mixed-use destination situated at the former Pike Industries quarry on the Portland border. 

The site will embrace the 26-acre quarry lake as a natural centerpiece and foundation, combining elements of destination retail, urban living, modern workplaces, vibrant hospitality, entertainment, dining, wellness and recreation into one immersive experience offering something for everyone. Rock Row will welcome Market Basket Supermarket as its first tenant, having already broken ground and opening summer 2019.  

“With Market Basket’s opening at Rock Row, we are one step closer to turning the site of the old quarry into a new gateway for the community,” said Josh Levy, co-founder and principal at Waterstone Properties. “Market Basket will be the first of many unique experiences we will create at Rock Row, a mixed-use destination unlike any other in New England.  We’re looking forward to continuing to work with our partners at the City of Westbrook, City of Portland, the state and the surrounding community to make our collective vision a reality. This has, and continues to be, a very collaborative, inclusive and thoughtful process.”

Rock Row is bringing together the best and brightest in site planning and development to work with local community stakeholders and to collaborate with elected and appointed officials from the cities of Westbrook and Portland.  Designed by Wakefield Beasley, a nationally recognized inter-disciplinary architectural design firm known for cutting-edge mixed-use projects like Avalon in Alpharetta, Georgia, The Battery Atlanta and Atlantic Station in Atlanta, and Wade Park in Frisco, Texas that span hospitality, entertainment, retail, residential and recreation sectors, Rock Row will deliver an unparalleled, authentic experience for residents of and visitors to the community. 

“The redevelopment of the former industrial quarry site into a thriving mixed-use development will have critical ripple effects throughout Westbrook,” said Jerre Bryant, City of Westbrook administrator. “We’re excited about the opportunity to work with Waterstone Properties to facilitate the reuse of the site in a way that will unlock the potential of the local and regional economy for years to come.”

The mixture of residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare and recreational uses will bring unprecedented amenities and uses to the Greater Portland area.  At full build-out, the 100-acre project will include over 2 million s/f of commercial, residential, and hospitality space, which will generate over 1,000 permanent jobs in addition to 1,500 new construction jobs. This plan includes 1,000 apartments, a mix of studio, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom units, with the first 300 units anticipated to open in the fall of 2020. Rock Row will also be home to 400,000 s/f of class A office space including a 100,000 s/f medical and wellness campus and 450,000 s/f of retail space, including shops, restaurants, interactive experiences, a movie theater and a 8,200 person concert venue. 

Waterstone is also curating a world-class brewery and food hall experience in partnership with The Colicchio Group, a hospitality leader that brings over 40 years of creating thoughtful restaurant concepts to the project. This 25,000 s/f indoor/outdoor facility will make it possible for local vendors to showcase the best the region has to offer in craft brewing, distilling and culinary experiences. 

With plentiful open space and accessibility to the community, Rock Row will embrace its proximity to the City of Westbrook while drawing in visitors to the Greater Portland area. With a strategic location directly on I-95 between exits 47 and 48, Rock Row is a convenient, super-regional destination for many of the 36 million visitors to Maine in a year, including nine million to Greater Portland alone and the nearly 500,000 residents who live in the area adjacent to the site.  Full build-out of Rock Row is slated to be completed by 2022.

Waterstone Properties Group, Inc. is a privately owned and self-funded real estate development company with a diverse portfolio of properties in the U.S. totaling over 7 million s/f of space among 66 properties. With a portfolio of more than 300 national and local tenants, Waterstone prides itself on maintaining long standing relationships with its business partners and being an active participant in its surrounding communities.