Image courtesy of Highland Assoc.

The former Lord & Taylor store at Burlington Mall will be converted into 102,000 square feet of office space under plans approved by town officials.

With unlikely prospects to attract a single retail anchor as a replacement, the current leaseholder is pursuing a multi-tenant approach to filling the space including another 18,000 square feet that will be designed for retail and restaurant uses.

Lord & Taylor permanently shuttered its remaining 38 stores in 2020 after declaring bankruptcy, ending a 194-year history for the department store chain. Its former owner, Hudson’s Bay Co., ground-leases the building from Burlington Mall owner Simon Property Group.

Hudson’s Bay Co. has already begun marketing the space to prospective tenants, according to application materials submitted to the Burlington planning board. The board approved the site plan for the redevelopment last week, according to a Daily Times Chronicle report.

The redevelopment is part of Hudson’s Bay Group’s “York Factory” strategy for retenanting the Lord & Taylor stores, according to a letter to Burlington officials from attorney Jessica Caamano of Goulston & Storrs.

Burlington Mall has been redeveloping spaces previously occupied by anchor tenant Sears and its former auto center outbuilding with smaller retail and restaurant tenants. The auto center was redeveloped at The Village at Burlington Mall which now includes 12 restaurants and shops.