InterMed broke ground last week on a new medical office building and ambulatory surgery center at The Downs in Scarborough. The facility is expected to be fully operational by November of 2026.

The two-story, 62,000-square-foot building will provide urgent and primary care in addition to pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, advanced imaging, lab services and outpatient surgical services. 

“It’s really a one-stop shop,” said Dan Loiselle, chief medical officer for InterMed.

As a medical mall, “you could receive a majority of your health care needs in one convenient location,” said Roger Poitras, InterMed’s chief executive officer. 

The operative suites will be able to serve between 5,000 and 6,000 patients a year, and the imaging modalities will be able to serve “tens of thousands of patients,” said Poitras. 

The choice of location was deliberate, working to complement the residential and commercial boom of The Downs. In addition to the shops, restaurants and breweries being built at the old racetrack, there will be approximately 2,000 housing units, a mix of condominiums and apartments. 

Poitras said that InterMed, which has practices in Portland, South Portland and Yarmouth, was looking to expand further into southern Maine. “The growth isn’t happening here (in Portland),” Poitra said. “It’s happening in Scarborough, Biddeford, Saco and Gorham.” 

Scarborough is one of the state’s fastest growing towns. Between July 2020 and July 2024, the town’s population rose 7.9%, with a population of 24,000 people in July 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. 

“Having a presence in the area where young families are moving to and raising their families, that’s exactly where InterMed needs to be,” Poitras said. “Where people are working and living.” 

Poitras estimates that there will be between 5,000 and 6,000 residents who live within walking distance to the new medical facility. 

The facility is estimated to create between 40 and 50 new jobs: 25 in imaging, 10 to 15 in urgent care and eight to 10 in the surgical wing.