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| Cape Cod Times/Merrily Cassidy |
By Sarah Shemkus, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.July 4--SAGAMORE -- The road leading into the Cape Cod Factory Outlet Mall is flanked by orange traffic cones and towering piles of excavated soil.
Inside the shopping center, most of the stores are empty and locked, and several of the remaining retailers are clearing shelves and packing up, like students emptying their lockers on the last day of school.
"I have to be out by July 4," said Eileen Amiro, owner of Touch of Elegance, gesturing toward the cardboard boxes stacked in a corner of her gift and photography shop.
The mall is in the process of being shut down in anticipation of major renovations that will see the structure razed and a new supermarket and retail center constructed.
"They originally were going to leave a portion up, but they're proposing now to completely demolish it," Bourne Town Planner Coreen Moore said.
Most tenants -- including children's clothing store Carter's, Dress Barn and Jones New
The property's owners, Compass Bourne LLC, have requested a demolition permit, but the application has been held up until the planning board approves some changes to the project's special permit.
"They haven't gotten approvals yet, but I don't foresee any issues," Moore said.
The new development has been several years in the making.
Once the site of a Coca-Cola bottling plant, the property was developed as a shopping center in 1972.
The mall had become somewhat tattered and run down by 2008, when Burlington-based High Rock Factory Outlet Road LLC bought the property for $16.1 million. Originally, the buyer revealed plans to upgrade and expand the shopping center. Developers at the time estimated that project could take as long as a year to complete.
Later, plans to build a large chain supermarket on the land were added.
In May 2010, Compass Bourne LLC acquired the 12.25-acre property for $20.9 million. After that transaction, the development scheme continued to evolve.
The plan currently before the town includes a 66,800-square-foot Market Basket and a separate building with 25,870 square feet of retail and restaurant space. A third retail store, including a drive-through, is also planned for the property.
The Market Basket will be the first grocery store in Bourne since November 2008, when the Grand Union off MacArthur Boulevard closed.
Neither Compass Bourne LLC nor its attorney, Eliza Cox, returned calls for comment last week.
It is not yet clear which, if any, of the current tenants will be returning when the new shopping center is built. However, architectural renderings the developers have submitted to the town include signs for Van Heusen, Bass, Izod and Carter's.
Amiro said she currently has no plans to reopen her independent gift shop, and will instead focus on her photography.
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