Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 20, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 11 R E A L E S T A T E F O C U S The Greendale Mall site has great potential F L AS H P O L L Arsenal Street. "We are simply supplying young professionals who work in tech and bio and earn as much as $125,000 with what they're looking for: Better places to live, shop, and dine," said McQuillan. "It's not rocket science. We are filling the space with the things that make sense. We are following the marketplace." Last summer, 10 miles north in Wo- burn, the city council approved a special permit to redevelop the Woburn Mall. In its place on the 23-acre site will stand Woburn Village. Edens, a South Carolina-based devel- oper, bought the Woburn Mall for $44 million in 2019. e company said a reconstituted mall would be in the best position to compete with the Burlington Mall and MarketStreet in Lynnfield. e 244,000-square-foot shopping center has been demolished to make way for a sprawling mixed-use redevel- opment featuring new shops, a cinema, and 350 apartments. An example for the new Greendale Finard said the revived Greendale Mall will take a page out of MarketStreet Lynnfield's success. Newton developers National Develop- ment and WS Development collaborated to build the $110-million open-air mall on the former Colonial Golf Course in 2013 off Route 128. It features more than 80 shops and restaurants totaling 395,000 square feet of retail space, 80,000 square feet of office, 180 luxury apartments, and the King Rail Reserve golf course. "e enclosed mall has just not suc- ceeded over time," said Ted Tye, manag- ing partner at National Development. Providing a short history of retail, Tye said its progression started out with strip malls. Typically, they featured a supermarket on one end or a Bradlees, Zayre, or J.M. Fields at the other. ose three retailers went out of business. en the enclosed mall was born. But they too relied on anchors such as Filene's, Sears, and J.C. Penney, and they are all either gone or in a downturn. "Malls are very expensive to build and very expensive to operate," he said. "It's a big building that must be heated, cooled and lit, so tenants can get into a lifestyle center at a lower cost." Still, Tye acknowledged given New England's oen severe winters, the idea of open air malls are counterintuitive. "But not every trip to go shopping involves a three-hour tour," he said. "e fact that someone can drive, park, and walk to their destination isn't a deter- rent." e other advantage lifestyle centers have over that traditional malls, he said, is open space. MarketStreet offers ice skating while others offer outdoor movies, fitness sessions, and activities for kids like face painting. Jon Hurst, president of Retailers Asso- ciation of Massachusetts acknowledged plenty of malls need to be repurposed. But Hurst said enclosed malls will not disappear, as they are changing to meet demand. For example, the North Shore Mall, which suffered a blow when the Apple store moved to MarketStreet, will see a 114,000-square-foot athletic lifestyle resort open later this year. e Simon Property Group, the nation's largest retail real estate investment trust and owner of the Peabody mall, is building a three-story Life Time fitness facility to include outdoor lap and leisure pools, whirlpools, and a bistro. In addition, Simon's Burlington Mall is underway with its own lifestyle center to replace the Sears automotive center. e new 35,000 square-foot, single-sto- ry, retail and restaurant building will connect to the mall. At the Natick Mall, JC Penney was replaced with Wegmans. e New York supermarket chain created a two-floor, 146,500-square-foot supermarket with more than 100 seats for café dining and two restaurants. e store features escalators for shoppers and carts as well as elevators to help customers move between the supermarket's floors. "e idea of lifestyle centers is a good one, people like it, and recalls traditional downtown from years gone by," Hurst said. "But malls are reinventing themselves. ere will be fewer and smaller stores, entertainment, and even healthcare services. It's almost a return to yesteryear." The potential is great because of its location off I-190 and near I-290. 53% It has good potential, if it prioritizes residential and office use as online shopping leaves less room for new retail. 40% 7% The potential is limited because of competition from other shopping centers and residential developments. What is the potential for a redevelopment of the Greendale Mall site? "There really are not enough indoor malls in the area and mid-tier restaurants either. The neighborhood is rundown so, if done well, could add new vitality to the region. Also, if there are smaller, mid-priced rentals and buses, that could give the college students and staff more local options for home base." COMMENTS: The Greendale Mall in Worcester has been bought by Boston developer Finard Properties, which plans to demolish the 32-year-old center and redevelop it with retail, apartments, and office space. When polled online, more than half of WBJ readers said Finard has a great chance of being successful in remaking the property. W

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