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V O L . X X X I I N O. X V I J U LY 2 7 , 2 0 2 6 14 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 F O C U S three-bedroom units take, you can't get that much more for them. And the market seems to like the one- and two-bedrooms. Development is a mathematical equation. A devel- oper has to make a profit or we're not going to do the project. Costs have definitely leveled off, but it's never going back to where it was pre- COVID; it never goes back. It's also important to note that we're follow- ing the town's comprehensive plan's guiding principles for development, to a tee. We're delivering what our own residents have called for. e town put the zoning in place to do exactly what we're doing — so we're just following the town's lead. MB: There have been a lot of concerns about traffic in Scarborough. RR: Traffic is moving much better than the perception; it's 25% better than it was when we started. M&R has invested $17 million in traffic improvements over the last five years. e state kicked in $3 million of that and the town kicked in $1 million, which came from impact fees collected from previous develop- ment projects; not taxpayer money. e majority of traffic for the Downs doesn't come off of U.S. Route 1. It's coming from Haigis Parkway and Payne Road, to get to Costco. Scarborough isn't going to go back to the 1950s and people do need to recognize that we are all moving forward together. MB: You're developing housing projects beyond the Downs, in Freeport and Windham. What do you look for in a project? RR: We look for pieces that seem like they can be done, where the town and the zoning is right and where there is an active and updated com- prehensive plan. Developers are not villains, we're rule followers. Our first assessment on any project is always zoning and comp. plan review to let the municipality and residents guide our work. Windham is a perfect example; the zoning was right and the property was available. at's a project where we're partnering with Graiver Homes; Loni Graiver brought that to us. MB: What's next? RR: Windham and Freeport are all we've got cooking right now, but we're constantly looking at other things. ere will be life after the Downs for Risbara Brothers and M&R development. We always try to do a wide price range to appeal to a wide range of households. ere's no one demographic, except that everyone has a pet. A lot of towns have figured out that you've got to have people in the town for more than just the business day. ey were rolling up the sidewalks at 6 p.m. in Freeport. ere's still pent-up demand for housing, but it's not as crazy as it was a few years back when people were moving in the day after we finished. MB: You've built a lot of housing. Do you think Maine is on target to meet its goal of building 84,000 new homes by 2030? RR: at, frankly, is not going to hap- pen. ere isn't enough land available that's zoned properly and there's too much opposition from people who don't want their towns to change. We're trying though! Everybody wants a home to live in but nobody wants things to change where they live. Everybody ought to have an opportunity to live where they want to live. Maine is such a great state; the greater Portland area is just amazing, and people want to live here. We've tried to meet a need, and we have a lot of satisfied customers. Tina Fischer, Mainebiz staff writer, can be reached at tfischer @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E ARCHITECTURE | INTERIOR DESIGN | PLANNING GTDArchitects.com Reach out to hear about our latest work and how we can help with your next project. MADRONA GROVE, ROSE VILLA | PORTLAND, OR (207) 839-2744 / info@greatfallsinc.com 20 Mechanic Street, Gorham See what we've been working on at greatfallsinc.com CONSTRUCTING WITH A PURPOSE SINCE 1988 Fall View on Main —A new mixed-use development in Auburn, ME There are people in town who don't care for what we're doing. But we've added 1,500 jobs, and in 2025, we generated $4 million in tax revenue for Scarborough. — Roccy Risbara

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