2025 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 5 Tuscan Village
In 2016, the renowned Rockingham Park in Salem — a legendary racetrack 35 miles north of Boston — closed for good. The 170-acre plot of land on which it sat, served by an exit off Interstate 93, remained empty for some time until it was purchased by local food manufacturer Joe Faro.
Faro imagined the site as a great location for a retail-based mixed-use center, but he had no experience as a developer. So he hired Mike Powers, a Simon and Starwood leasing veteran, to help him put a plan together.
“Joe and I spent some time traveling the country visiting successful mixed-use projects to get ideas,” said Powers. “One of the interesting things about him is his talent for asking the right questions and absorbing information. He has a great ability to learn from other people’s successes and failures.”
Tuscan Village, which currently holds 700,000-sq.-ft. of retail and 1,200 apartments and condos, now draws regular traffic from Boston in the south, Concord in the north, and seacoast towns in the east. More than 25,000 people attended its fireworks display this Fourth of July.
New retail tenants added in the past year included Carhartt, The Capital Grille, Sweetgreen, Shake Shack, West Elm, Nike and Pottery Barn. Whole Foods has signed a lease and will be opening soon.
Activations are a daily affair at the 170-acre center, whose Lake Park is a public green space with an event venue. A Summer Concert Series runs Thursdays through Saturdays at the park during the summer months. There are Movie Mondays and Wine Wednesdays. The Sam Adams Pavilion is an all-season outdoor bar-restaurant with retractable garage doors.
“I personally believe that this is the future of consolidated retail development. The synergy between the different uses continues to drive new experiences for guests,” said Powers. “A lot of our guests don’t come here for a specific purpose. It’s about discovering new experiences. They know that they will find them when they get here.”
