The Right Equation for Responsible Development: Spotlight on Estabrook’s Pownal Production Facility (Pownal)

MEREDA Recognizes its 2025 Notable Project Award Recipients

Each year, the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) recognizes some of the state's most "noteworthy and significant" real estate projects, completed in the previous year. The exemplary projects from across the state, completed in 2025, not only embody MEREDA's belief in responsible real estate development, but also exemplify best practices in the industry, contributing to Maine's economic growth by significant investment of resources and job creation statewide.

This year, MEREDA honored projects from throughout the state, with each receiving special recognition at MEREDA's 2026 "Notable Night" social celebration in April.

In a multi-part series exclusive to the Maine Real Estate Insider published by Mainebiz, we'll provide an up-close look at the most notable commercial development projects of the past year that are helping to fuel Maine's economy in terms of investment and job creation. MEREDA is proud to recognize responsible development based upon criteria including environmental sustainability, economic impact, energy efficiency, difficulty of the development, uniqueness, social impact and job creation.

Mainebiz also featured each of our Notable Project Recipients in their second annual "Groundbreaking Maine " publication. Be sure to check it out!

MEREDA's 2025 Top 7 recipients include:

The Downs, M&R Development (Scarborough)

Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility, Estabrook Farm & Greenhouse, Inc. (Pownal)

UNE Harold & Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences, SMRT Architects & Engineers (Portland)

Wedgewood, Avesta Housing & Lewiston Housing (Lewiston)

University of Maine Shawn Walsh Hockey Center and Harold Alfond Sports Arena Renovations and Additions , University of Maine (Orono)

Boyd Block (178 Middle Street), East Brown Cow (Portland)

Gehring House, Northern Forest Center (Bethel)

Please join us this week in celebratin g Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility.

MEREDA: Describe the building and project.

Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility: The Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility is a state-of-the-art greenhouse complex designed to expand local plant production for Maine. The project was developed to support both Estabrook's retail garden centers and the company's growing wholesale business across the region. The facility incorporates modern greenhouse technologies that allow for efficient, high-volume plant production while minimizing environmental impact.

One of the defining features of the project is its focus on sustainability and resource efficiency. The greenhouse systems are designed to recycle both water and fertilizer through a closed-loop irrigation system. Instead of runoff leaving the site, water and nutrients are captured, treated and reused for plant production. This significantly reduces waste while maximizing resource use.

To support this system, the project includes a two-million-gallon pond that captures and stores water for irrigation. Rainwater and recycled greenhouse water are collected and reused throughout the facility, providing a reliable and environmentally responsible water source for plant production.

The greenhouse structures themselves are highly energy-efficient, incorporating modern glazing, climate control systems and automation that allow growers to precisely manage growing conditions year-round. This technology improves plant quality while reducing overall energy use.

The Pownal facility represents a major investment in local agriculture and horticulture infrastructure. By increasing the capacity to grow plants in Maine, Estabrook's can supply both retail customers and wholesale partners with high-quality plants grown closer to where they will ultimately be sold and planted.

Overall, the project reflects Estabrook's long-term commitment to innovation, sustainability and strengthening Maine's horticulture industry.

MEREDA: What was the impetus for this project?

Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility : The primary motivation behind the Pownal Production Facility was the opportunity to grow more plants locally and expand the availability of Maine-grown plant material. As demand for locally produced products continues to grow, Estabrook's saw an opportunity to increase its own production capacity rather than relying on plants shipped long distances from other regions.

The project also supports the company's expanding wholesale business. In addition to supplying Estabrook's retail garden centers in Maine, the new facility allows the company to produce plants for independent garden centers and landscape professionals throughout the region. Increasing local production helps ensure consistent quality, availability and delivery timing for these customers.

Population growth across southern Maine has also increased demand for landscaping plants, flowers and garden products. More homes, businesses and public spaces are investing in landscaping, which creates additional demand for high-quality plant material. By building a modern production facility in Pownal, Estabrook's positioned itself to meet that demand while strengthening Maine's regional horticulture supply chain.

Ultimately, the project was part of a long-term strategy to grow the company's production capabilities while keeping more of that production local to Maine.

MEREDA: How long were you in the planning stages before construction started?

Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility : The planning process for the Pownal Production Facility was many years in the making. Early planning began as far back as 1994, when Estabrook's leadership first considered long-term production expansion as part of the company's strategic growth plan.

Over the years, the company evaluated potential sites and production needs as the business continued to grow. In 2002, Estabrook's purchased the land in Pownal that would eventually become the location of the greenhouse facility. The site offered the space and natural resources necessary to support a large-scale production greenhouse operation.

From that point forward, the project remained part of Estabrook's long-range strategic plan. As market demand continued to increase and greenhouse technology evolved, the company refined the vision for what the production facility would eventually become.

The result was a carefully planned project that reflects nearly three decades of strategic thinking about the future of plant production for the company and for the Maine market.

MEREDA: Tell us about the most challenging aspect of getting this project completed.

Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility : Like many construction projects completed in recent years, the Pownal Production Facility faced a number of unexpected challenges related to timing and global supply chains.

One of the most significant challenges involved permitting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many regulatory processes slowed considerably during that time, which created delays that had not originally been anticipated during project planning.

Supply chain disruptions also presented challenges during construction. Many components of modern greenhouse systems are manufactured overseas, and shipping delays and material shortages created additional hurdles throughout the project timeline.

In addition to these external factors, Estabrook's took a very hands-on role in the development and construction of the facility. While this allowed the company to ensure the project met its exact operational needs, it also required a much greater level of direct involvement than initially expected.

Despite these challenges, the team successfully navigated the obstacles and completed a facility that will support the company's growth for many years to come.

MEREDA: Something unexpected you learned along the way was….

Estabrook's Pownal Production Facility : One of the biggest lessons learned during the project was that contingency budgets are never quite large enough. Even with careful planning, large construction projects inevitably encounter unforeseen costs and delays that must be managed.

Another takeaway was that bringing a new production facility online takes time. Even once construction is complete, new systems, equipment and workflows require a period of adjustment as teams learn to operate everything efficiently and vendors fine-tune the systems.

At the same time, one of the most positive surprises has been how effective the new greenhouse systems have proven to be. The efficiency gains from modern greenhouse technology have exceeded expectations, allowing the team to produce plants more efficiently while maintaining high quality.

Those efficiencies are already helping the facility operate exactly as envisioned: as a modern production center capable of supporting Estabrook's continued growth while strengthening local plant production in Maine.

For more information on these seven impressive projects, please click here.