Demolition of the 48-year-old Hanover Mall will begin in February as a developer prepares to build a 600,000-square-foot lifestyle center anchored by Market Basket and a 300-unit apartment complex.
The project known as Hanover Crossing is being developed by PREP Property Group of Cincinnati, which acquired the 103-acre property in 2016 for $39.5 million.
Along with the 93,000-square-foot Market Basket, retail anchors will include a 35,000-square-foot Ten Pin Eatery family entertainment center and a 10-screen, 1,000-seat Showcase Cinemas, said Lloyd Sova, vice president of development at PREP. The apartment component will be developed by The Hanover Cos. of Houston.
The Hanover planning board unanimously approved a special permit for the development this week. The Route 53 property is PREP’s first acquisition in New England, but Sova said the company is interested in redeveloping more retail properties in the region.
“It’s something a lot of people don’t want to get into, but we’re finding a path in terms of how to figure it out,” Sova said.
Completion of the project is scheduled for late 2021.
In Woburn, developer Edens is partially demolishing the former Woburn Mall for its 700,000-square-foot Woburn Village mixed-use project including a 350-unit apartment complex by AvalonBay Communities.
And the Cambridge city council this week rezoned the CambridgeSide property as owner New England Development seeks to expand the complex with multifamily housing, offices and lab space.