WESTBROOK, Maine — The second phase of a $600 million complex is underway at Rock Row in Westbrook. Next up: a 200,000-square-foot medical and research development campus.
The six-acre complex anchored by New England Cancer Specialists will focus on cancer research and treatment and provide a unique healing environment for patients and their families.
Construction crews plan to transform these mounds of dirt into healing gardens, walking paths, and outdoor patios where patients can get their infusions.
"We are bringing the elements of the outside inside. It's a marriage between technology, science, and state-of-the-art facilities," Dr. Chiara Battelli, the president of NECS, said.
Battelli, staff, and developers toured the beginning stages of a new campus in Rock Row that will be the physician-owned practice's flagship location.
NECS, which has four Southern Maine and New Hampshire locations, treats more than 10,000 cancer patients annually. The NECS collaboration with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston has spanned three decades.
"We are able to present our cases to them. They have a pool of experts there. They review the cases and tell us their recommendations. That's a benefit we bring to the community," Battelli said.
NECS will occupy three floors of a six-story medical office building. Other tenants may include an imaging practice, diagnostic labs, primary care physicians, and other specialists. A second office building will offer nutritional health and wellness for not only patients but medical staff.
Josh Levy is the founding partner of Waterstone Properties, which is developing the 110-acre complex of office, retail, medical, residential, and convention, and entertainment space, which will also feature nature trails alongside a 300-foot deep quarry.
"We will have trails that connect with 70 miles of nature trails so you can get your steps in," Levy said.
Construction is scheduled to begin on the medical and research campus in June, with completion of the project expected by late 2023.