In this week’s column I am going to take the opportunity to discuss a large development project in Scarborough, and give you a brief, behind the scenes glimpse into the glamorous and mysterious workings of an economic development office.

As many of you probably know, on July 18, a public hearing was held at Scarborough Town Hall to introduce the “Gateway at Scarborough” project and its developers’ application for a contract zone for the project. The project is a large one, involving 70 acres on Payne Road and the Haigis Parkway at Exit 42 of the Maine Turnpike in Scarborough. It is a mixed-use project, with the large anchor tenant hopefully being the outdoor retailer, Cabela’s. In addition to Cabela’s, the development would also include a hotel, several office buildings, and assorted smaller retail, service and hospitality venues that make up the development.

Scarborough, as we all know, continues to be one of the most attractive residential communities in the state. Its location, educational and recreational facilities continue to attract new residents. Realizing the increased financial burden this type of development puts on the community, Scarborough has taken an aggressive posture in attracting commercial and industrial ventures. Through careful planning and the development of effective partnerships, Scarborough has managed to attract high quality and environmentally friendly commercial endeavors to the town.

This project has all the earmarks of an effective partnership and creates a “win-win” situation that will provide not only profits for the developers, but also jobs, increased tax base and a truly dramatic introduction to “Scarborough’s Professional Gateway.”

About a year or so ago, my office received a call from a representative of Cabela’s, a well-known national outdoor product retailer, looking for appropriate sites in Maine. We had a number of potential sites in Scarborough. After a review they quickly chose the Payne Road site as their preferred location, because the combination of size, accessibility, and visibility made it a perfect spot for them.

A group of developers had an option on the site, I put Cabela’s in touch with them, and the process began. From the town’s point of view, the first step was zoning, and that was the purpose of the special town meeting on July 18. The new Haigis Parkway Zone, a zone designed to ensure a high level of development, does not allow for retail facilities larger than 20,000 square feet. The town, however, has a mechanism, called contract zoning, that allows the Town Council to create a new zone, with appropriate conditions and restrictions when a proposal is in the best interest of the town. The Scarborough Economic Development Corp. recommended moving on with this approach, as the Cabela’s was unique. A true destination retailer, committed to a high level of design, would fit well within the Haigis Parkway Zone.

After several months of meetings, it became apparent that a far larger project was emerging. Now encompassing some 70 acres and with tenants ranging from Cabela’s to a hotel, several office buildings, and assorted smaller retail, service and hospitality businesses. This expanded plan fits well into Scarborough’s concept of planned comprehensive development. The 70 acres would be designed in a complimentary manner and offer a host of amenities.

It had now become time to introduce the project to the town. The town manager and the planning staff were introduced to the project and then an ad hoc committee of two town councilors, Jeffrey Messer and Patrick O’Reilly, was created by the Town Council. They have met with the developers, town manager, and myself to come up with a project that would fit well in Scarborough. A partnership for good development I alluded to earlier has been created, and the beginning of the process culminated in the July 18 meeting.

Another part of the partnership would be financial. Typical of projects of this size, considerable public improvements will be required. In the past, Scarborough has partnered with a developer to assist in the financing of these types of improvements. One example of such a partnership is the successful Enterprise Business Park, which required improvements to Route 1. The new development proposed for the Haigis Parkway is expected to attract plenty of traffic and would also likely require improvements to some surrounding roads.

We have come up with what I feel is a unique arrangement, where the developer finances the improvements and is reimbursed only when the project generates sufficient new taxes to cover the cost. The town does not have to raise money upfront, or assume any financial responsibility for the improvements until sufficient new taxes are generated. This would be accomplished by amending the existing Haigis Parkway Tax Increment Financing District to capture additional tax dollars to reimburse the developers for these improvements. Clearly this is a win-win for all parties.

This project is the beginning of development on the Haigis Parkway. Through all the years of planning and development we have talked about the Gateway to Scarborough, even coming up with a marketing slogan, “Scarborough’s Professional Gateway.” This is the beginning, and a very auspicious beginning at that.

Harvey Rosenfeld is the President of the Scarborough Economic

Development Corporation (SEDCO), a private non-profit located in

Scarborough. If you would like to contact him, he may be reached at 883-4893 or at [email protected].