Boston Firm Plans 'Large-Scale Development' At Southeast New Hampshire Mall
After a three-year endeavor, a Boston-based developer has taken full control of an 82-acre commercial site outside of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
The site is home to the 600K SF Mall at Fox Run and the adjacent, 15-acre Newington Park Center. The properties sit about 22 miles north of the Massachusetts border and 60 miles from Boston.
Torrington Properties plans to redevelop the site into a new commercial center, it announced on LinkedIn on Tuesday. The developer wrote that it is planning a "large-scale development project" on the 82-acre site.
"Our energy and resources have been focused for the past three years to acquire the various properties and while we are not yet ready to submit plans to the town for any changes to the site, we will now shift our focus to master planning for a large-scale redevelopment project which we feel can turn this property into a vibrant, commercial destination," Torrington CEO Jay Bisognano said in a statement to Bisnow.
The development may not include housing, a common element of recent mall redevelopments, because that isn't a by-right use for the site. Bisognano said the project could add new retail, restaurant, entertainment, office and medical buildings. Seacoast Online first reported the project plans.
"In the real estate development world, people in our business go and try to lead their case and change zoning laws and do things like that," Bisognano said during a Tuesday Newington Board of Selectmen meeting, according to Seacoast Online. "I'm just saying to you that today, as we sit, that's not our intent. It's not our goal and I don't think we'll be before you with an apartment project, based on what I know today."
Torrington in June 2021 paid $13.3M for the Newington Shopping Center, which is home to Savers and Joann Fabrics and Crafts. The developer bought the 109K SF site from Urstadt Biddle Properties, which owned it since 1979.
Since then, the developer went on to acquire the the 250K SF portion of the Mall at Fox Run that doesn't include the department stores for $11.5M in 2023 from Morgan Stanley. Macy's sold its two Newington stores for $16.2M to Torrington in March. Most recently, the developer acquired the JCPenney department store space at the mall for $8M, bringing its total investment to $66.1M.
The mall was built in 1983, and its ownership has previously changed hands between Simon Properties and the Spinoso Real Estate Group, Seacoast Online reported. The mall has also suffered after losing big box tenant Sears in 2018.
Youtube creator Fleabitten Adventures posted a 26-minute walk-through of the mall last month with the title "The Mall at Fox Run: Is This Dead Mall About To Make A Major Comeback? We'll See..."
