Read the full article at theforecaster.net
FALMOUTH — Developers who recently purchased the Falmouth Shopping Center hope to expand the plaza with a hotel, sports complex, housing, offices and several mixed-use buildings.
Jonathan Cohen and Joseph Soley, who purchased the Route 1 property in mid-March for $21 million, are now proposing a master plan that would create more than 400,000 square feet of new development on about 40 acres along Route 1 near Bucknam Road.
The Town Council will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 4, to get its first comprehensive look at the proposal.
On Friday, Cohen declined to release the cost of the project, which would be built in phases. “Our goal is to present the master plan, hopefully get it approved and then announce each (new tenant) as they come along,” he said.
While there are not many specifics available about possible future tenants, the Seacoast United Sports Club, which now operates in Topsham and Brewer, announced Friday afternoon that it would be among the first to move into the new mixed-use development, to be called Falmouth Center.
“Seacoast United is an ideal anchor for what will become Falmouth’s most exciting address,” the company said in a press release. “SUSC operates full-year teams and developmental programs in soccer, baseball, field hockey, softball and lacrosse with facilities throughout New Hampshire, Maine, and northeast Massachusetts.”
To accommodate Seacoast United, the developers will build two outdoor, artificial turf fields, as well as an indoor artificial turf field facility, according to the proposed master plan.
The ultimate goal, Cohen said, is to create a “lifestyle center (that includes) destination-driven activities. These types of centers are being built in other places around the country and are replacing the old-style strip malls.”
In all, the plan is to add 21 buildings to the existing shopping center over the next seven years.
To do that, the developers will utilize 29 acres of undeveloped land that is part of the existing Falmouth Shopping Center, as well as about 11 acres of state-owned land abutting the Maine Turnpike Spur further north on Route 1.