New England could soon get its first-ever surf park. In Middleborough?

Business admin June 27, 2026 0 Comments

New England could soon get its first-ever surf park. In Middleborough?

Surf’s up, dude.

Any day of the week, regardless of the wind or weather. Not necessarily in Westport or Wellfleet, or any of the big beach towns. But in landbound Middleborough. Yes, you heard right.

Developers Clay Rockefeller and Jerry Pucillo have homed in on a location within earshot of I-495 where they want to build an outdoor surf park: It would use technology from Wavegarden, a Spanish company, to create various kinds of waves that can go as high as seven feet and flow across a six-acre manmade lagoon. A lawyer for the project, known for now as New England Surf Park LLC, is scheduled to present their proposal to the Middleborough Select Board on Monday night.

Pucillo, a Weymouth-based real estate consultant, teamed up with Rockefeller, a Rhode Island developer, to pursue a passion project of Rockefeller’s: a place where New England surfers could shred any day of the week, rather than wait for good wave action at the ocean. That meant coming up with plans for the first surf park in the six-state region, and finding a good spot. They settled on the former Schobel Farm site at 177 East Grove St. (Route 28) in Middleborough.

While lining up local permits, they’re also trying to line up equity partners and debt financing. They expect to spend as much as $80 million to build it. There would be a hospitality component, too, with food, beverages, and lodging. More than 120 people would work there once it’s operational. Surfers could buy monthly memberships, like with a gym. The developers said they have not yet finalized the costs to join, or purchase day passes, though the prices would likely vary depending on the season.

They’ll also need to win over skeptical residents, particularly any who chased away previous plans for a massive warehouse at the site. By occupying just a piece of the nearly 100-acre farm site, the developers say they’ll be sensitive to concerns about fitting in with the Southeastern Massachusetts town’s character. Pucillo argues the traffic impacts would be relatively minimal.

Rockefeller said he hopes the project could open sometime in 2028. He said he found Wavegarden’s technology, already used in several surf resorts around the world including one in Virginia, to be the most appealing and efficient.

New England has a tight-knit surfing culture but not every day is a good day; sometimes surfers will venture out in frigid weather to take advantage of the best waves. Rockefeller said he expects this project, if approved, would be open nine or 10 months a year though it would not be heated, so surfers would wear wetsuits during the colder months.

“It offers the opportunity to create more safe surfers and have people understand the etiquette and the ocean, and how it’s supposed to work,” Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller said surfing essentially saved his life, helping him rise out of depression following his father’s death in 2014. He hopes the surf park will help others discover the joy and satisfaction he has found in the sport.

“It’s a healthy addiction,” Rockefeller said. “If you don’t get in the water and get the opportunity to surf, you get itchy. … Hopefully, I’ll be surfing in Middleborough.”