The new Market Basket supermarket in Westbrook is now expected to open next spring, a spokesman for the developer of the Rock Row multi-use project said this week.
When the first phase of the project was approved by the city’s Planning Board a year ago, officials with the developer, Waterstone Properties, had said they expected Market Basket to open by November. That was then pushed back to the first quarter of 2020 and more recently to the April-June quarter.
The spokesman, Ryan Ferguson, said a topping off ceremony will be held this fall to mark the completion of the exterior construction of the building that will house the supermarket. He said there may be updates to the developer’s plan and schedule at that point.
Construction was being managed by Market Basket, Ferguson said. A call to Market Basket seeking comment was not returned Wednesday.
Eventually, Rock Row, built on the site of a former rock quarry, is expected to have apartments, offices, restaurants and shops. Currently, a temporary amphitheater sits on one corner of the site where summer concerts prompted noise complaints from both Westbrook and Portland residents. The last concert of the year is scheduled for the end of this month.
City officials are working with the concert promoter and neighbors to resolve the noise issues. Developers hope to have a permanent performance venue as part of Rock Row’s complex.
Waterstone Properties has previously announced that a 12-screen movie theater, to be operated by Cinemark, will be built on the site, along with a Starbucks and The Paper Store. The coffee shop and the gift shop will open in the first phase of development, in the same section of the project as the Market Basket.
Other businesses and commercial tenants have not been unveiled.
Waterstone is expected to meet with city officials about its plans for the next phase of the project around the beginning of 2020, said Jennie Franceshi, Westbrook’s director of planning enforcement, although no specific date has been set. She said that as the developer seeks permits for buildings, Waterstone has to reveal the general type of tenant – such as a restaurant or a retailer – but not the actual business.
The second phase is expected to include most of the major development of the site, she said.
This story was updated at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 19 to clarify when the exterior of the building is expected to be completed.
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