The Right Equation for Responsible Development: Spotlight on The Downs (Scarborough)

MEREDA Recognizes its 2025 Notable Project Award Recipients

Each year, the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) recognizes some of the state’s most “noteworthy and significant” real estate projects, completed in the previous year. The exemplary projects from across the state, completed in 2025, not only embody MEREDA’s belief in responsible real estate development, but also exemplify best practices in the industry, contributing to Maine’s economic growth by significant investment of resources and job creation statewide.

This year, MEREDA honored projects from throughout the state, with each receiving special recognition at MEREDA’s 2026 “Notable Night” social celebration in April.

In a multi-part series exclusive to the Maine Real Estate Insider published by Mainebiz, we’ll provide an up-close look at the most notable commercial development projects of the past year that are helping to fuel Maine’s economy in terms of investment and job creation. MEREDA is proud to recognize responsible development based upon criteria including environmental sustainability, economic impact, energy efficiency, difficulty of the development, uniqueness, social impact and job creation.

Mainebiz also featured each of our Notable Project Recipients in their second annual “Groundbreaking Maine” publication.  Be sure to check it out! 

MEREDA’s 2025 Top 7 recipients include:

The Downs, M&R Development (Scarborough)

Estabrook’s Pownal Production Facility, Estabrook Farm & Greenhouse, Inc. (Pownal)

UNE Harold & Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences, SMRT Architects & Engineers (Portland)

Wedgewood, Avesta Housing & Lewiston Housing (Lewiston)

University of Maine Shawn Walsh Hockey Center and Harold Alfond Sports Arena Renovations and Additions, Univeristy of Maine (Orono)

Boyd Block (178 Middle Street), East Brown Cow (Portland)

Gehring House, Northern Forest Center (Bethel)

Please join us this week in celebrating The Downs.

MEREDA:  Describe the building and project.

The Downs: On a 577-acre former harness racing track that had failed to redevelop 17 times over several decades, M&R Development reimagined the property as a dynamic, walkable community aligned with Scarborough’s Comprehensive Plan. In just eight years, The Downs has transformed a dormant parcel into a thriving economic engine, delivering 701 housing units, attracting more than 50 businesses, creating approximately 1,500 jobs, and generating $353 million in new taxable value for the Town of Scarborough – and they’re just getting started. The development has also brought transformative regional benefits, including Maine’s first Costco, the rapid sellout of a new business and Innovation District, and the creation of Maine’s first newly constructed Town Center, a vision held by Scarborough residents for more than two decades.

Equally important, The Downs demonstrates how thoughtful development can address some of Maine’s most pressing challenges. By focusing on high-density housing in a designated growth zone, the project is helping respond to the region’s housing shortage while diversifying the local tax base. At the same time, M&R Development has invested more than $115 million in privately funded infrastructure improvements, preserved over 200 acres of open space, expanded public transit access, and built more than 10 miles of pedestrian trails.

MEREDA:  What was the impetus for this project? 

The Downs: The Michaud and Risbara families have lived in Scarborough for 4 generations. After decades of leadership both in the construction and business sectors, the families came together to do something that would create a sustainable and lasting future for Scarborough. All nearing retirement – the families launched The Downs as a legacy project – something future generations would benefit from, including their own.

MEREDA:  How long were you in the planning stages before construction started?

The Downs: 18 months.

MEREDA:  Tell us about the most challenging aspect of getting this project completed.

The Downs: Building something so large and visionary in a very well-established and already successful community proved to be challenging. Residents rightfully want to ensure that The Downs development would strengthen and improve the community, not cause any unintended negative impact. Concerns around increased population, traffic impacts, overburdening municipal budgets, and over-populating the municipalities school system were among primary concerns. After years of intentional communication and recording and tracking data, the Scarborough’s mill rate has remained flat in 2026 due to the dramatic increase in new tax revenue generated; the school population has slightly declined, $30M has been invested by The Downs in traffic improvements and $115M has been invested in new and existing infrastructure improvements. Change is hard, particularly when you have a personal and vested interest in something, but our team is confident that our contributions have not only improved the community’s position now, but will continue to do so into the future.

MEREDA:  Something unexpected you learned along the way was….

The Downs: It takes a village to be successful, and immediately we knew we couldn’t do this alone. M&R leadership built a team to include the smartest experts in key development roles needed for success. And while we are very proud of the brick-and-mortar contributions and the fiscal contributions we’ve delivered to the region, we are most proud of the team that got us here. Every staff member, contractor, and partner company working alongside our leadership team is part of the family and deserves much credit for the overall success.

MEREDA:  Now that it’s complete, what feature of the project do you think makes it the most notable?

The Downs: There are a variety of ‘firsts’ for Maine that can be found within The Downs, which in concert, make the project particularly successful. The Downs will be home to:

• Maine’s first-ever new construction Town Center. This has been outlined as a desired benefit in the Scarborough Comprehensive Plan since 2006.
• Maine’s first Costco has been wildly successful, with recent data showing it attracts 1.8M shoppers per year
• Maine’s first affordable housing complex for people with disabilities is under construction
• And within the last 20+ years, The Downs is the first successful development after 17 failed attempts before it. All previous deals centered around large-scale development and casinos, which was consistently rejected by residents.

For more information on these seven impressive projects, please click here.