Neighboring New Hampshire centers to re-emerge as one mixed-use project
A 600,000-sq.-ft. mall and a 15-acre shopping Center on outside of Portsmouth, N.H., could re-emerge as a single, retail-based mixed-use center on the Great Bay fed by the Atlantic Ocean.
That’s the plan of Boston-based Torrington Properties, which acquired the Mall at Fox Run and the Newington Park Shopping Center in the town of Newington in the past two years.
“There is a significant amount of synergy between the two properties and great potential to enhance the shopping experiences at both locations,” Torrington CEO Jay Bisognano told the Portsmouth Herald. “We are in the early stages of reimagining the properties with a coordinated future.”
Torrington acquired the Mall at Fox Run just last fall after it had bought the vacant Sears box on the property with another investor, so no detailed plans have been set down by the company for the future of the current two-property site.
“These are older properties in need of updating, so it will be a process of understanding the market, the needs of the community, and what makes sense for everyone,” Bisognano said in a prepared statement. “We want to make it a vibrant, exciting, mixed-use center that could incorporate entertainment and new and exciting forms of retail. Our goal is to rethink the properties and breathe new life into the site.”
Torrington did state when it purchased the 102,000-sq.-ft. Newington Park Shopping Center that no residential components were planned for the property. Current tenants at the center include Joann Fabric, Savers, and York Hospital Cardiovascular Care.
Mall at Fox Run is anchored by Macy’s and JCPenney. Other tenants include H&M, Hot Topic, Kay Jewelers, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, Loft, Francesca’s, and Rue 21.
What new tenants are on the horizon in this early stage of development are unknown.
“We don’t know exactly what it’s going to be, but we know it’s going to set a high bar for the Seacoast,” Bisognano said. “We take great pride in building great projects and that’s exactly what we’ll be looking to do here.”