The Maine Cambodian community received approval last week from Westbrook to build a multi-million-dollar complex with a community center, worship hall and Buddhist temple.

Marpheen Chann, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Khmer Maine in Portland, told the American Journal this week, “At the earliest we hope to start road and site work next summer.”

Jennie Franceschi, director of Westbrook Planning and Code Enforcement, said the project is located on a 30-acre parcel on Cumberland Street, directly across the street from Willoughby Farm Road.

“I’m sad we don’t have the temple in Portland, but I’m glad it’s going to be built in Westbrook,” Tae Chong, a former Portland city councilor, told the Westbrook Planning Board last week in a Zoom call before the board’s unanimous approval vote.

Khmer Maine is the organization raising funds for the Asian American Community Center to be built in the project’s Phase 1, Chann said. Watt Samaki Temple, a religious organization, is separately fundraising for development of the worship hall in Phase 2 and the temple in Phase 3.

Plans for the worship hall where monks will live. Contributed / City of Westbrook

“The capital campaign for the Asian American Community Center is looking to raise $5 million. The Watt Samaki Temple fundraisers are closer to $6 million,” Chann said.

Costs of the entire project are projected to exceed $11 million. “They are proposing a five-year build-out for the entire complex, funding dependent,” Franceschi said.

Architect Steve Weatherhead of Winton Scott Architects in Portland said the community center will include classrooms, offices and a gathering space for Asian American community events.

Plans call for the community center to be open mostly Mondays through Fridays and would be available for other organizations to lease space for events such as kids’ birthday parties.

The Watt Samaki Temple is now located in Buxton and will be sold, Chann said, once the worship hall is built.

The two-story worship hall will have five bedrooms for monks and the traditional temple will be a reproduction of ones in Cambodia and some components will be imported from Cambodia.

Design plans for the Buddhist temple. Contributed / City of Westbrook

The roadway into the project will be 1,500 feet, according to Will Savage of Acorn Engineering in Portland.

The site will have a “robust” landscaping plan enhanced with several statues and Buddhas. Parking will allow for 102 vehicles with seven spaces dedicated for those hiking a trail.

The three major buildings will be equipped with fire protection and electrical service will be underground.

Resident Tyler Plante of Colonial Road urged the Planning Board not to delay approval. “It’s a thoughtful project, and beautiful project,” Plante said.

Chong said 12,000 foreign-born Asian Americans are living in Maine and many are homeowners and he expects the number to grow. He said the cultural center will attract future homeowners to the city and adds to the “uniqueness and flavor” of Westbrook.

Chann described the community center as a hub that will help the city tap into the economic and cultural potential of Maine’s Asian community. “The community center and the temple will help put Westbrook on the map,” Chann said.

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