Image courtesy of Zom Living
Attempts to build housing on a section of Braintree’s South Shore Plaza property resumed momentum as a multifamily developer presented the final version of the 325-unit apartment complex.
A handful of residents and one town councilor critiqued The Residences at South Shore project at a hearing Tuesday, but acknowledged that the project is likely to be approved by the Planning Board.
Zom Living of Fort Lauderdale, Florida has agreed to buy a 10-acre section of the Simon Property Group-owned mall and seeks to build a 4-story apartment complex.
A councilor who opposes the project asked that developers be required to sponsor a private shuttle service delivering residents to MBTA stations.
“If clean, quiet, comfortable and reliable transportation is provided, I think residents will use it and I think it could be a selling point,” District 1 Town Councilor Julia Flaherty said.
Vanasse & Associates, the developer’s traffic consultant, estimates the project would generate 1,152 additional vehicle trips on weekdays. The project includes 475 parking spaces in an interior garage.
The once hotly-contested project cleared a pair of key approvals in late 2024, when both the Braintree Town Council and Planning Board approved a new zoning overlay that allows multifamily housing on the site.
Former Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros and neighborhood residents led the opposition to the project, originally proposed as 495 units in 2023 including 185 senior living units.
Zom withdrew the application and redesigned the project, shrinking the unit count and redesigning the buildings, while adding landscaping and an elevated berm.
Concerns about traffic, sewer capacity, architectural styles and landscaping dominated the public hearing and a subsequent discussion by the Planning Board on Tuesday.
Several residents objected to the buildings’ appearance, variously comparing them to those found in East Berlin, Boston’s Seaport District and Copley Square.
Planning Board members asked for more details on mitigation of construction noise and long-term maintenance. Representatives from the mall’s long-time owner, Simon Property Group, are expected to appear at the next hearing to discuss their plans to reinvigorate the property.
The 1.6 million-square-foot mall has a vacant anchor at the former Lord & Taylor space, and Nordstrom announced in January that the South Shore Plaza store will close this year along with its Northshore Mall in Peabody location.
In January, Simon Property Group announced that Dick’s House of Sport will occupy the former Nordstrom anchor pad in Braintree. A Dick’s House of Sport store also will open at the Peabody mall, with both stores scheduled to open in 2026.
