The Westbrook Planning Board gave a warm reception Tuesday to the 204 apartments planned for what is now a mobile home park off Spring Street.
Developers said they hope to be back before the board for final approval in the fall.
Six three-story buildings would house the one- and two-bedroom apartments at 984 Spring St. A central club house would offer amenities for tenants, which could include a swimming pool. The site would also have trails and other open space.
A rendering depicts the design of the apartment buildings proposed for 984 Spring St. in Westbrook. Contributed / City of Westbrook
“It looks great, there is so much space, gardens, pathways. It looks like a great place to live and I am happy you are coming to Westbrook,” Planning Board member Jason Frazier said.
Board member Nancy Litrocapes also praised the project, but urged the developers to be transparent about flight path noise.
“I know that the location is in the airport flight path, so again, making it so that knowing the sound the people will have to go through living there, make sure that’s accounted for,” Litrocapes said.
Members noted that an upcoming traffic study for the project by the Department of Transportation will be important because the site is near parts of South Portland and the Maine Mall area that already have significant traffic.
“It’ll generate traffic throughout the city. If we don’t get a handle on it, we as in the city, it’s going to be congested. It already is,” member Ed Reidman said.
Following traffic studies, state approval and a potential Planning Board approval in the fall, developers hope construction could start in the spring of 2023.
There are 16 mobile homes at the mobile home park owned by Tony DiRenzo of Westbrook, and 14 are occupied. Officials and developers said that they are working with residents to help relocate them.
Project Engineer Kable Bourassa of Gorrill Palmer, which is developing the land for Tom Watson & Co., said the developers will keep the board updated on the project even after approval.
The proposed layout for the apartment complex planned for 984 Spring St. in Westbrook. The smaller building in the center is the clubhouse, and the spot highlighted in yellow would be a swimming pool. Contributed / City of Westbrook
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