A rendering of a hotel room at the Element planned for Rock Row in Westbrook. Courtesy photo
WESTBROOK — An upscale five-story hotel will open at Rock Row in 2022, developers announced Thursday.
The Rock Row midrise hotel will have 122 rooms and be built with a view of the quarry.
Westbrook Economic Development Coordinator Dan Stevenson said the hotel is good news for the city.
“Having a hotel on that site, it does two things. It keeps it as a destination-oriented development project. Hotels also bring people to the community who will visit establishments and spend money on goods and services,” Stevenson said. “With some of our other larger businesses, we also have business industries that drive business trips, and business travelers will be able to stay in the community. It is really exciting.”
Element by Westin, which has about 40 locations around the world, is billed as an eco-conscious hotel for both long and short says with an outdoor-inspired design.
“We envision creating a world-class hotel that’s inspired by the outdoors and will offer vibrant, natural living and smart, fresh thinking,” said Josh Levy, co-founding principal of Waterstone Properties. Waterstone is developing Rock Row, a development on the site of the former quarry on Main Street that will combine retail, entertainment and food across the 110 acres.
The hotel project must go before the Westbrook Planning Board because a hotel was not included in the Rock Row plan initially approved.
The hotel will join Maine Savings Pavilion, Market Basket, Starbucks, a 12-screen Cinemark, The Paper Store and an undisclosed flagship outdoor recreational retailer that have already signed on to the project. Plans also call for a beer and food hall. While no date is set, the Cinemark will be built soon after the hotel.
“We are excited to make an entrance into greater Portland and be part of the Rock Row experience,” said Jared Schillinger, vice president of Brandt Hospitality Group, which operates the hotel chain. “The Element by Marriott brand has a focus on livability and healthy living and will be very complementary to the balance of the Rock Row development. Rock Row is a phenomenal vision and we look forward to watching it come to life.”
Market Basket, under construction, is on schedule for a spring opening, said Greg John, Waterstone’s chief marketing officer. A specific date has not yet been set.
“In collaboration with the city and the community, we’ve been working hard for years on permitting and planning. With this announcement and other exciting news and events we’ll be sharing in the next few months, Rock Row is coming to life,” Levy said.
Work on the Market Basket is underway this winter at Rock Row and will wrap up this spring. Chance Viles / American Journal
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