A major redevelopment plan for the former Boston Store site at Southridge Mall in Greendale has been given the green light.
The Greendale Village Board approved a plan on Tuesday to transform the site into an upscale mixed-use complex that will include as many as 790 apartment units, underground parking and 50,000 square feet of retail and commercial space.
“We are thrilled to partner with the village of Greendale on this historic, transformational project on the nearly 15-acre site of the abandoned Boston Store at Wisconsin’s largest shopping mall,” said Rick Barrett, co-founder of Barrett Lo Visionary Development. “We thank the village for its confidence in Barrett Lo and look forward to working with the community to bring this project to life.”
The project will add more than $100 million in additional tax base to the community, Barrett said.
Barrett Lo Visionary Development “has a track record of success in helping communities create destination projects for their communities,” a press release issued by the Village of Greendale states.
The development will be constructed in three phases.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
The site has been vacant since Boston Store closed in August 2018. The demise of the once-popular retail store came as Milwaukee-based Bon-Ton Stores Inc. shut down all Boston Store properties and other department stores after company succumbed to changes in the retail world, including the massive shift to online buying. Boston Store had a 121-year history in the Milwaukee area market.
The project is important for the Southridge property. The mall’s owner, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, agreed to foreclosure earlier this month. The property, excluding the former Boston Store site, is expected to eventually be sold through a public auction.
The village said it will continue to work with property owners in the Southridge Mall area to revitalize that portion of the South 76th Street business corridor.
“We are passionate about working on big, bold projects that really make a difference for communities,” Barrett said. “That’s exactly what we see with this project, an opportunity to create a real destination for Greendale, with a mixed-use upscale lifestyle center that generates significant new tax base and value for the community.”
Milwaukee-based Barrett Lo Visionary Development recently broke ground on The Couture, a 44-story Downtown skyscraper along Milwaukee’s lakefront. The project was initially proposed more than nine years ago.
Construction on the 44-story building, which will reach 537 feet in height, officially began on May 11. The $188 million project, which is expected to be completed in 2023, will feature 322 apartments as well as retail space and a station for The Hop streetcar and bus rapid transit systems.
Barrett Lo Visionary’s other projects include The Moderne, a 30-story apartment building near Fiserv Forum and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Deer District, and Parterre at Emerald Row, a luxury apartment development that has been a key part of Oak Creek’s Drexel Town Square project.
