Brunswick Maine Street Station, or Brunswick Station, is a multi-modal, multi-use real estate development in Brunswick, Maine. Located on Maine Street, it consists of commercial offices, service centers, healthcare, retail, restaurants, theater and residential space. Brunswick Station is also a transportation hub for city buses, taxis, and passenger trains. The development is split into two parts, the "West" and "East" sides. The west side will consist mostly of residential apartments and homes, along with some retail and commercial office space. The east side consists of mostly retail and commercial office space, along with some apartments. The east side is also the location of the passenger train station. This development was built on the vacant lots surrounding the railroad junction between Portland, Lewiston, Augusta, and Rockland.
History
The first steps of the project began on August 20, 1998, when the Town of Brunswick purchased the land that the development is on for $655,000. Not until 2004 did the town begin to consider creating a commercial development around a train station. On May 28, 2008, the planning board approved the final plan for Maine Street Station. The plan, developed by JHR Development of Maine, was submitted on January 15, 2008. The current plan was scaled down from the original proposal. Ground was broken for the station on October 18, 2008. A branch of the Bowdoin College bookstore opened in one of the buildings constructed as part of phase I of the development on October 30, 2009. Construction of Building Three was completed in 2009, along with site work and preparation for the other buildings, including Building Four, which hosts the train station. In December 2010, construction began on Building Four. Mid Coast Hospital'sPrimary Care & Walk-In Clinic is the anchor tenant in this development. On January 28, 2010, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority received approval for a $35 million grant from the federal government to fund track and signal upgrades for the Portland-Brunswick line. Pan Am Railways began work on the line in spring 2010.
Passenger train station
The station serves as a terminus for Amtrak's Downeaster service. The station is staffed by volunteers. In 2012, Amtrak built a longer high-level platform in preparation for the extension of Downeaster service. Service to Freeport and Brunswick began on November 1, 2012. Maine Eastern Railroad operated passenger service between Brunswick and Rockland from 2004 to 2015. Maine Eastern used the open lot on Cedar Street prior to the construction of the first phase of Maine Street Station, when it began boarding passengers from a portable platform at the beginning of the 2010 season.
