A rendering of the town center portion of The Downs downtown development in Scarborough, including a green space where developers hope to have a food truck court as a temporary, near-term amenity. Contributed / The Downs

Developers at The Downs would like to work closer with the town of Scarborough in the months ahead, including applying for grant funding and permits to allow temporary amenities at the downtown development, they said at an annual update on the project last week.

At the Oct. 2 workshop, the developers said a consultant of theirs has identified federal grants for transportation projects, which could help fund roadway and intersection improvements on which the town, state and The Downs have partnered.

“We’re asking you guys to please support and listen for a real pivot on how we handle traffic mitigation, how we fund it,” Peter Michaud, of Crossroads Holdings, told the council.

Developers said they’d also like to work together on providing EV charging upgrades, communication with the public, enabling temporary amenities and more.

One of the temporary amenities developers would like to host is a food truck court at the location of what will eventually be a green space in the town center portion of the project. However, they’d need a permit or for the council to consider some ordinance changes to allow food trucks there.

“We’re actively working on temporary amenities because we need to phase our way into this green,” which would eventually be surrounded by mixed-use and commercial buildings, said Dan Bacon, of M&R Holdings.

At the annual update, town staff reported that The Downs, as of April 1, has created $319.6 million in new value. Through a Downtown tax increment financing and credit enhancement agreement, the developers will have had a total of $4 million in taxes reimbursed to them since 2018, once fiscal year 2025 taxes are paid.

By the end of fiscal year 2025, the town will have retained $6 million in taxes over the six years of the tax increment financing and credit enhancement agreement, with roughly $5 million going to the tax increment financing fund and $1 million to the town’s general fund, according to the assessor’s office.

The Downs created 69 new housing units in fiscal year 2024, which ended March 31, bringing them to a total of 606 units. According to the developers, 77% of those are either one- or two-bedroom units, and about 50 students live at the development.

Developers also have met or exceeded some expectations of the credit enhancement agreement, including the amount of nonresidential space developed, infrastructure improvements and the amount of green space provided. They also noted investments in the environment from unclogging streams to mitigating the developments’ impact on wetlands.

“When we bought The Downs, there was an existing harness racing facility operation here, and there were many, many acres of paved and gravel areas,” Rocco Risbara, of Crossroads Holdings, told the Leader on Tuesday. “It wasn’t an untouched piece of land.”

Unfiltered stormwater was running into nearby streams, Risbara said, and those streams were eventually clogged by downed trees to make unnatural ponds, all before developers purchased the property.

“None of that’s happening now,” Risbara said.

Developers and councilors acknowledged that residents who are concerned about the drawbacks of the downtown development, which is expected to consist of roughly 2,000 housing units once completed, haven’t been able to reap many of the benefits The Downs eventually will supply.

“What people see is a lot of residential apartments and what they see is a lot of stuff moving around and they see some more traffic with very little benefit to them personally,” said council Chair Nick McGee. “You’re still at the beginning phases of this and you said you’re in for the long game. I think the effusive comments and praise may come in a couple more years as more and more people have the opportunity to take advantage of some of the amenities you will be bringing to the area. They haven’t had that opportunity quite yet.”