Retail Rallies In Boston Area
With several new projects joining successful existing developments, the Boston area continues to see a rise in retail.
Stephen O’Kane

The Boston area is experiencing a rise in successful retail, not only because of new developments, but due to the continuation and remerchandising of older centers as well. Space is limited in the northeastern U.S. and companies are using existing properties to create retail and mixed-use centers to fill the need for high-quality destinations. The space that is left is quickly being used for a similar purpose and as a result, retail is growing through several avenues.

“Retail development activity here is very strong, as demonstrated by the large number of developments and redevelopments planned or ongoing in the market,” says Elizabeth Furnelli, vice president of development for Columbia, South Carolina-based Edens & Avant, which owns centers and is developing in the area. “Leasing activity here is robust — demand continues to be strong due to high barriers to entry.”

Edens & Avant has three significant projects recently completed or under development in the Boston area. Scheduled for completion this summer are South Bay Center in Boston, Massachusetts, and Dartmouth Commons in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. South Bay Center is one of the company’s redevelopment projects and spans approximately 540,000 square feet. Among the tenants open at the center include Best Buy, Stop & Shop, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, The Home Depot, Circuit City, OfficeMax, Marshalls, Old Navy, Applebee’s and Olive Garden. Dartmouth Commons, which spans approximately 234,000 square feet, is an example of one of the company’s new developments. Dick’s Sporting Goods and TGI Friday’s are currently open, with Petco, Michaels and Sleepy’s scheduled to open this summer. Also coming down the pike for Edens & Avant is Shoppes at Page Pointe in Stoughton, Massachusetts. The new development, which will span approximately 193,000 square feet upon completion in fall 2008, will be anchored by a two-story Target prototype, designed by Target’s unique store design team. The project also will house an additional 50,000 square feet of retail space.

Westwood Station, a mixed-use development of New England Development in Westwood, Massachusetts, will house 1.35 million square feet of retail, 1.5 million square feet of office and research and development space, 1,000 residential units and two hotels.

General Growth Properties is a developer also taking advantage of the need for superior retail. One of the largest redevelopment projects in the area is Natick Mall in Natick, Massachusetts. The property was originally built in 1966 and was one of the first enclosed shopping centers in the eastern U.S. The mall passed through a few hands — first owned by S.R. Weiner, then purchased by Homart Development in 1992 and finally acquired by General Growth in 1995. Building on the already successful retail destination, General Growth purchased the adjacent Wonder Bread bakery site in 1999 with plans to begin a large-scale expansion to be completed in two phases.

In 2005, Phase I of the project began. The renovation of the original mall was completed last year and the expansion complex is scheduled to open this September. Upon completion, the development, renamed Natick Collection, will feature more than 1.7 million square feet of retail space housing tenants such as Neiman Marcus, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Tiffany and the first Nordstrom location in Massachusetts. Also being incorporated into the project will be architecture by Beyer Blinder Belle as well as a birch tree leaf motif created by landscape architect Martha Schwartz.

Phase II of the expansion will focus on developing a residential component, making Natick Collection the first mixed-use property in the country in which residential units are directly connected to a mall. Named Nouvelle at Natick, the residential portion will house 215 luxury condominiums and will be the tallest building in Natick at 12 stories. Phase II will come on line starting in summer 2008.

“When we first started the Natick project, we knew we were going to have competition in terms of market share and other dominant regional mall projects,” says Michael McNaughton, General Growth Properties’ vice president of asset management for the Northeast. “Our experience has become, due to the demographic area that we sit in, that we have literally competed with downtown Boston for tenants. Natick Collection will change the way Boston shops from a super-regional perspective.”

General Growth Properties is planning a major remerchandising effort for the 1.26 million-square-foot Providence Place in Providence, Rhode Island.

General Growth Properties has played a hand in the success of another major development in the Boston area. Providence Place in Providence, Rhode Island, is a six-level enclosed shopping destination featuring Macy’s, JC Penney’s and Rhode Island’s first Nordstrom as anchors. General Growth Properties is planning a major remerchandising effort for the 1.26 million-square-foot project, which will add Tiffany’s and other luxury retailers.

“Looking at the Boston trade area as a whole, the retail market is in an excellent place,” says Lori McWeeney, vice president of leasing for Boston-based The Wilder Companies (see related article in this issue). “Many good and varied projects are on their way. There is much demand from both the customer and our retailers for the creation of lifestyle shopping experiences and mixed-use developments incorporating different aspects of shop, work, live, play are dominating today’s landscape.”

Also capitalizing on this trend, The Wilder Companies is involved with two large-scale mixed-use projects in the Boston area. The Loop-Northborough in Northborough, Massachusetts, is a joint venture development with New England Development and Brendon Properties that will span more than 1 million square feet upon completion in 2008. The project will feature retail, office and residential space, as well as amenities such as green spaces, an ice skating rink and walking trails.

Gloucester Crossing, a 200,000-square-foot mixed-use center in Gloucester, Massachusetts, is a joint venture development between The Wilder Companies and Sam Park & Company.

Gloucester Crossing, a joint venture development between The Wilder Companies and Sam Park & Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts, will be a mixed-use center as well. Spanning approximately 200,000 square feet, Gloucester Crossing will house retail, residential and hotel space upon completion in 2008.

“Sales have been good and the historically underserved suburbs are ripe with solid new developments offering retailers excellent opportunities to expand their businesses,” says McWeeney. “Retail gets better every year in the Boston trade area. There are high quality developments in the works giving retailers solid choices to expand and customers increased and compelling places to shop.”

In addition to the joint venture with The Wilder Companies, New England Development is creating another mixed-use center in Westwood, Massachusetts, called Westwood Station. In the heart of the project, which is being developed in a partnership with Cabot, Cabot & Forbes and Commonfund, will be an open-air lifestyle center housing approximately 1.35 million square feet of retail. Also planned for Westwood Station are 1.5 million square feet of office and research and development space, 1,000 residential units and two hotels. And, positioned at the intersection of Interstates 128 and Interstate 95, the development will offer a convenient on-site Amtrak station.

Nashua Landing is a 600,000-square-foot open-air center in Nashua, New Hampshire, and marks the first lifestyle center in the state.

New England Development also is teaming up with W/S Development to deliver Nashua Landing, a 600,000-square-foot open-air lifestyle center in Nashua, New Hampshire. Marking the first lifestyle center in the state, the project boasts a convenient location just 35 miles outside of Boston. And with no state sales tax and the first Whole Foods store in the state, the company feels Nashua Landing will be a popular shopping destination for Massachusetts customers.

Developers, brokers and architects are reformatting and remerchandising existing properties in order to adapt to the current needs of consumers. By offering a combination of convenience and popular tenants, they hope to attract new customers and retailers. This trend, coupled with new, innovative developments, is keeping the retail market in Boston alive and stable.

“Retail in Boston will continue to be strong, specifically in areas of population and income growth,” says Furnelli. “Mixed-use projects and those focused on creating an experience — giving people a reason to visit the center beyond shopping — are trends that will continue to emerge.”


©2007 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.