Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 J U LY 2 7 , 2 0 2 6 F O C U S R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G Rocco "Roccy" Risbara III is president of Risbara Brothers Construction Co. and a principal in M&R Development, the firm behind the 577-acre Downs community in Scarborough. Between the two businesses, and his roots in his parents' earlier construction company, he's had a hand in a significant number of housing and multi-use developments in southern Maine. More projects are underway beyond the Downs, in Freeport and Windham. ainebiz: How did you get started in development, and what's the relationship between your two entities? Roccy Risbara: My parents started R. Risbara Construction Co. when they moved to Scarborough from Portland in 1968. I don't know what made them think they could do this. ey were 25 years old with three little kids. I think they did it because they didn't know they couldn't. My broth- ers William and Marc and I started getting involved when we were in high school, and we formed Risbara Brothers Construction Co. in 1992. We now have a team of 40. Between my parents' and our companies, I think we've built 20% of the homes in Scarborough. My brothers and I joined with Peter and Dick Michaud to start M&R about 12 years ago. ey had developed a snack food com- pany that they eventually sold, and did well for themselves. at business started in the garage of their child- hood home. We grew up together, none of us came from money and we worked hard and have been suc- cessful. Before the Downs, we did projects in Portland, Gorham, South Portland and in Westbrook, where we developed Blue Spruce Farm in 2015. at was about 256 apartments and 60 houses. Risbara Brothers does some of the construction at the Downs, but we partner with as many local builders as possible, including Shaw Brothers and Landry/French. e Risbaras and Michauds are also co-owners of Maine Properties, Dirigo Architectural Engineering and Southern Maine Remodeling, all based in Scarborough. MB: There's been some discontent in Scarborough over the pace of growth; it's one of the fastest-growing towns in the state. Development at the Downs alone has added more than 700 housing units and over 50 businesses, with more of both planned. How have residents reacted to the project? RR: ere are people in town who don't care for what we're doing. But we've added 1,500 jobs and, in 2025, our project generated $4 million in tax revenue for the town of Scarborough. e Downs is contributing to the tax base and part of the reason our mil rates remain low is because of this project. Many neighboring communi- ties are experiencing extremely high property tax increases. We can't get people to recognize that, or maybe to admit it. e town is 54 square miles, the largest in Cumberland County. ere are 140 miles of road that the town takes care of and 8,500 dwell- ing units. We'll eventually have 2,000 dwelling units, two million square feet of commercial space on eight miles of roads; that's pretty efficient for the town to maintain. e Downs contributes far more than it takes. e development has also added very few children to the schools — there has actually been a decline in school enrollment in the last year. We do mostly one- and two-bedrooms, so we have very few children liv- ing at the Downs. For the size that C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » We've been in business nearly 150 years and continue to innovate by providing you a portfolio that offers the kind of protection your business needs — today. FOR ALL THE THINGS YOU VALUE Forward-looking solutions for modern business challenges. Visit Patrons.com to find an independent agent near you. BIBBY & HAROLD ALFOND DINING COMMONS, KENTS HILL SCHOOL We meet every project with a passion for quality, creativity and an emphasis on sustainability. WARRENCONSTRUCTIONGROUP.COM 207.865.3522 M Between my parents' and our companies, I think we've built 20% of the homes in Scarborough. — Roccy Risbara

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