Scarborough, Maine. Adobe Stock / Enrico Della Pietra

The Scarborough, Maine Planning Board has unanimously approved the master-plan for the first phase of the Crossroads Planned Development District, which will be constructed on a 57-acre section of the 500-acre Scarborough Downs property.

The property, including the racetrack, was purchased in January for $6.7 million by a group of Scarborough residents, who plan to develop the property into an “urban village” concept over the next 10 to 20 years. There are no current development plans for the racetrack, which will be leased to the previous owners and remain in operation for the foreseeable future.

The first phase will contain a 30-lot single-family subdivision, 24 garden condos, 24 duplex cottages, a 56-unit apartment property, and a 12-unit memory care facility. The single-family homes will be geared toward workforce housing, according to Rocco Risbara III, one of the developers. “Not great big 3,000-square-foot houses,” Risbara said. “They just don’t fit here.”

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