Scarborough has approved plans to build Maine’s first Costco store at the Innovation District of Scarborough Downs.
The plan, approved unanimously by the planning board on Monday night, will need to get approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection before construction of the wholesale retailer can begin in earnest, the Portland Press Herald reported.
There is no official timeline set at this point for when construction on the 161,000 square foot facility will start, or when the store is expected to open.
Approval from the planning board includes a waiver to allow oversized parking spaces, reducing the driving aisles from the typical 25 feet wide to 24 feet wide and a waiver to allow 36.5-foot-tall lighting — as opposed to the town standard of 20-foot-tall poles. The board also requires that the company work with its staff to moderate the intensity of parking lot lighting and pay for traffic impact fees.
Scarborough Downs, which had been the site of horse racing since 1950, ceased operations in November 2020 due to financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Downs and the adjoining 500 acres were sold in 2018 to Crossroads Holdings, which is developing the district that would include a town center with retail and commercial entities, along with housing and other facilities.
This past September, the company announced that the district fully sold out of its more than 825,000 square feet of space. It said businesses in the district will include Idexx, Throttle Car Club, AV Technik, Mainely Tubs, Shucks Maine Lobster and others.