Courtesy / Waterstone Properties
A rendering show the proposed performance space, right, adjoining other parts of the Rock Row conference and meeting center and a proposed hotel.
October 28, 2021
Rock Row unveils plans for $75M convention center that would be Maine's largest business venue
Courtesy / Waterstone Properties
A concept rendering shows an entrance to the proposed conference and meeting center at Rock Row in Westbrook.
By William Hall
A look at the the Rock Row complex
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Rock Row, the 110-acre complex of office, retail, residential, entertainment and medical space going up in Westbrook, now has added a key piece: a convention center.
Concept plans unveiled Thursday call for a $75 million venue that would break ground in 2023 and when complete would be the largest conference and meeting center in Maine, according to developer Waterstone Properties Group.
The center, which is not yet named, would cover 110,000 square feet of enclosed space, including a 35,000-square-foot exhibit hall, pre-function space, ballroom and other large meeting rooms. The center would be attached to a proposed hotel and parking garage.
There would also be a four-season performance space with a retractable wall that opens to provide lawn seating for summer concerts. The new stage would replace the seasonal, open-air Maine Savings Pavilion, which closed in September due to construction of Rock Row’s Medical & Research Campus.
The performance space would hold up to 8,200 people. An equal number of fans may be business audiences who gather in adjoining spaces.
“Trade shows and other pass-thru events could host nearly as many guests,” Waterstone spokesman Greg John told Mainebiz.
“Rock Row’s Conference and Events Center has a business-first focus to accommodate the void of a convention and meeting center in Maine … Our venue is designed for maximum flow and economic impact, with movable walls and interchangeable spaces that can accommodate several different types and sizes of events at the same time.”
The Needham, Mass.-based developer claims the new center will generate additional economic benefits, including 343 new jobs in the region and an average total of $13.2 million in annual wages. Approximately 345,000 guests are expected to attend ticketed and non-ticketed events per year, with more than 25% traveling from outside Maine.
When fully built out, the Rock Row development is expected to cost a total of $600 million, with the price tag for the conference and meeting center estimated at $75 million. Waterstone hopes the state will chip in to help fund some of that. Legislation currently in the works to pay for improvements at the Augusta Civic Center or for other convention space might be one source.
“It is appropriate for us to be strongly considered for any bond or funding source that is currently being discussed for a convention center,” John said. “Rock Row is the ideal space for a conference and meeting center that benefits the entire state … Expanding the wording on the bill to include Rock Row is our primary focus at this time.”
Maine’s current event venues include a variety of hotel ballrooms and function spaces, as well as stadiums such as the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland and the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. But they’re not enough for some large business gatherings.
“There is no comparing Rock Row's facility to the venues that are currently in the state. Those were built primarily for concerts and sporting events, with most featuring one main hall and fixed seating,” said John.
In comparison, the Hynes Convention Center in Boston has 176,000 square feet of space and the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, R.I., offers about 130,000 square feet. Some venues in the U.S. have more than 1 million.
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Anonymous
October 29, 2021
When the honeymoon is over, will we be looking at a parallel to the shopping center across the street. It too had its heyday with movie theaters, busy restaurants and a big box store. It has struggled for many years to keep tenants. Rock Row faces traffic and parking issues, a transit system which is unreliable, and plans to steal business from intown Portland. They send a mixed message with a grocery store targeted to low income residents next door to a palatial conference center (at a time when virtual is bigger than big). Contradictory signals. And then there's this huge hole in the ground full of water - what could go wrong there.
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