Donald Poland pitched Westbrook residents on the benefits of a project to convert the ailing local outlet mall into a complex of 695 apartments and townhouses, retail space and a 100-room hotel. Poland is a consultant for the project developers Lexington Partners and Inovalis, the owner of Westbrook Outlets. According to Poland, Westbrook saw a 30 percent decline in the population under 18 between 2010 and 2020, a rate three times the statewide average — a decline, he said, caused by young families fleeing the town in recent years in part due to a lack of multifamily and rental housing. The project, if approved in its current form, would be built in two phases and would include 596 apartments — 30 studios, 209 one-bedrooms, 306 two-bedrooms and 50 three-bedrooms — 100 townhouses, 76,000 square feet of restaurants and entertainment retail and a 100-room hotel. A public hearing will be held on July 22 with Zoning.
