South Shore Mall in Braintree May Add Apartments

As retail shopping changes, so-called “dead malls” across the country have been repurposed in numerous ways, including housing. Developments outside of New England have been largely for luxury units, but in New England, the emphasis has been on affordable housing.The Westminster Arcade in Providence was the first to be turned into housing. The first indoor shopping arcade in the US (built in 1828) fell victim to the 2008 recession. It had lovely architecture and held a fond place in the hearts of locals. So instead of demolishing it, clever developers turned it into 48 microunits (225-300 SF). It opened to renters in 2016 at a cost of $550 per month and in 2021 the affordable apartments were turned into tiny condos, starting at $125,000 to purchase.The Westlake Shopping Center, which opened in the 1950s in Daly City, California, is one of the first generation of shopping malls. The big box, anchor retailers in the mall did poorly in the pandemic, and in 2023 the owners announced that two former anchor stores – a closed Burlington Coat Factory and a portion of a parking lot – would be turned into 400 apartments. There will still be retailers in the mall, and the owners hope the residents nearby will shop at the local stores. Owner Kimco Realty has experience redeveloping malls, having completed the Witmer, a 26 story, 440 unit luxury apartment building adjacent to the Pentagon Centre mall in Arlington, VA. That development did so well, they developed a second, 11 story, 253 unit on the other side of the mall.Outside of Chicago, the large Westfield Old Orchard mall recently announced they are totally revamping their property with a vacant Bloomingdale’s being demolished to build “hundreds” of residential units, a vacant Lord & Taylor’s being demolished to create a farmer’s market and park, and numerous other storefronts being revamped into upscale dining and boutique shops. Construction is expected to be completed in 2026.The Urban Land Institute (ULI) reports that “retail-to-residential conversions seem to be leading the way” for adaptive reuse of closed malls. Residential reuse is attractive to investors, as buying those malls was expensive to being with, and it’s a sustainable use of an already-developed parcel, leaving green space free. The ULI article lists about a dozen mall to residential redevelopments across the country.One of the newest proposed is at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree. Developers ZOM Living has proposed a 495 apartments (315 for the general public and 180 restricted to seniors) on a nine-acre parcel that contains parking lots and wooded area already zoned residential at the back of the plaza. If the deal goes through, the parcel will sell for $20 million, according to a recent Globe article. The development would be called “The Residences on Granite”. The zoning application began in May 2023, and if approved, construction would start in summer of 2024.The Globe article cites an opponent from the North Braintree Civic Association, who states the project seems too large and that it would generate too much traffic. However, the town’s Master Plan and the South Shore Chamber’s 2030 Housing Initiative both acknowledge the need for more housing and it sounds like councilors are supportive.