A massive shopping center on Main Street – which will be home to a 99 Restaurant & Pub and Maine’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant, as well as a Wal-Mart – won final approval this week from the Westbrook Planning Board.

The board on Tuesday unanimously approved 7-0 Dirigo Plaza, a 500,000-square foot regional retail shopping center at the site of the former Pike Industries property that has a stone quarry now filling with water. The project is being developed by J & J Gove Development.

Planners also got their first look at the downsized Phase 2 of the Blue Spruce Farm housing development, which brought out residents who oppose the plan.

Following approval of the shopping center, developer Jeffrey Gove thanked the city and praised its Planning Department.

“The staff has been outstanding,” Gove said in the meeting.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Rene Daniel, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting in absence of Ed Reidman, said after the meeting the shopping center will bolster existing businesses and the city’s tax base.

“It will bring people into Westbrook,” Daniel said.

Dennis Isherwood, a Planning Board member, congratulated the city.

“We’ve got a great project,” Isherwood said following the meeting.

The project has been years in the making.

“We did good to get that project here,” Isherwood said.

Wayne Morrill of Jones & Beach in New Hampshire presented final plans for the developer, which has a purchase and sale agreement with Pike Industries. The plans contained 136 pages and Morrill worked his way through them Tuesday in updating the Planning Board.

“The time we spent with you has made a great project,” Morrill told planners.

A new electrical substation will power the development and 90 pole-mounted, LED, shoe-box style lights. Traffic has been an issue, but Morrill expects to receive soon a final permit from the Maine Department of Transportation.

“We got approved tonight in Portland,” Morrill said during the meeting.

Morrill mentioned the names Chick-fil-A and Ninety Nine while describing buildings in the shopping center. Morrill said the center will have seating outside restaurants. Other amenities will include bicycle racks and a maintenance person on site daily.

Planning Board member Cory Fleming asked about signage announcing local events like Westbrook Together Days.

Morrill said the city would have one side of a four-sided, outside kiosk that would be 8-feet tall.

In a Planning Board workshop, Risbara Properties unveiled the latest Phase 2 plans for the Blue Spruce Farm housing development. The company is seeking permission to build nine, 12-unit apartments at 95 Maple St. and 95 Blue Spruce Farm Road. Phase 2 would have 54 one-bedroom apartments, 54 two-bedroom apartments, and four, five-bay garages on the 13.5-acre parcel.

Two additional apartments would be located in an existing residence on the property.

The latest Phase 2 proposal presented Tuesday is a scaled-down version of what the developer originally proposed.

Nancy St. Clair, of St. Clair Associates in Cumberland, represented Risbara in Tuesday’s meeting. St. Clair said the site could support 110 units. The project would have 33,000 square feet of open space.

Planners set 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, for a site walk. A date has not been set for a Planning Board public hearing on the Phase 2 project.

The Blue Spruce development Phase 1 has 189 units including apartment buildings and single-family homes. Initial Phase 2 plans announced in August called for 309 units. It sparked a public outcry and led to talks of a building moratorium to slow the pace of development in Westbrook. The City Council is set to vote on the moratorium next week.

The initial Phase 2 plans were shelved when Risbara Properties’ deal to buy an additional 28 acres needed for the project fell through. Risbara Properties previously said it  filed court action against the landowner.

Mark Eyerman of Planning Decisions, a consultant for Risbara Properties, addressed the Phase 2 impact on Westbrook schools. Eyerman projected three school-age children in Phase 2 units and said the project is not designed to accommodate children.

“To lay people, three children sounds far fetched,” Planning Board member John Turcotte said.

Phase 2 received a barrage of opposition from neighbors, including members of the group Westbrook Forward, which has pushed for the six-month development moratorium.

Flynn Ross, of 45 Middle St., had a long list of concerns and questions about the latest proposal, including the impact on Stroudwater River water quality.

Peggy Quinlan, 76 Middle St., asked the Planning Board, “Do you really want to see nine apartment buildings?”

Matt Aiken, 55 Jacqueline Way, has a concern about children safety.

“My main concern is my 6-year old daughter and traffic,” he said.

Kate Bergeron, McKinley Avenue, objected to the size of apartment buildings being proposed, compatability with other neighborhood homes and declining home values.

“I’m asking you to uphold our current ordinances,” Bergeron said.

Isherwood, who said he was disappointed in Phase 1, pointed out that there are no single-family houses and condos in Phase 2.

Rocco Risbara of Risbara Properties spoke at meeting’s end.

“We’re not interested in condos at this time,” Risbara said. “We think we have a good project.”

Staff writer Andrew Rice also contributed to this report. 

A recent photo of the Pike Industries land between Main Street and Larrabee Road, that will now become the 500,000 square-foot retail center Dirigo Plaza.

Westbrook residents Tuesday hear plans for Blue Spruce Phase 2.