NEWBURYPORT — Mayor Sean Reardon recently met with Port Plaza Shopping Center owner Richard Kaplan to explore the possibility of converting the long-vacant Kmart site into a mixed-use housing project, according to multiple sources.
The city is looking to build affordable housing to the area located near the intersection of Storey Avenue and Low Street that includes the former C&J Bus Line parking lot near the on-ramp to Interstate 95 north on Storey Avenue, as well as the Port Plaza, where the old Kmart store has been dormant for many years.
On Thursday, Reardon said he had an informal discussion with Kaplan earlier this week, who appears anxious to get something started on the site.
“That’s really exciting,” Reardon said. “There are a lot of opportunities there and they’re trying to find the best path to do that.”
Kaplan’s interests are being represented by former Newburyport Mayor Lisa Mead of Mead, Talerman & Costa. In a Thursday statement, Mead confirmed her client has been talking to Reardon and is evaluating “realistic and practical possible uses” including mixed-use development and multifamily housing for the former Kmart.
“We appreciate the mayor’s willingness to meet with us and discuss possibilities,” she said.
Reardon said Kaplan is “very interested” in moving forward.
“We like what we’ve seen from them so far and we’d like to work with them,” Reardon said. “So it’s a matter of trying to figure out a way to proceed.”
The idea of building affordable housing there has been discussed for years, according to Ward 5 City Councilor Jim McCauley, who said he repeatedly met with Kaplan to gauge his interest.
“People have been worried about the Kmart and I dropped him a note about four years ago,” McCauley said of Kaplan. “We had some discussions about maybe a residential development and how the city could best be supportive of it.”
The Kmart building would have to be demolished to make way for a development that would include traditional housing with an affordable component, according to McCauley.
“It would include the parking lot where the garden center was but won’t go any further than where the front line is now,” he said. “It would also go all the way down to Low Street with parking underneath. But it’s on a hill, so I don’t think you’ll see the parking from Low Street.”
McCauley went on to say that Kaplan’s company would “really like to activate that space.”
“They have some conceptual plans to build a mixed-use development, with commercial use on the first floor and then housing on the upper two floors,” McCauley said.
McCauley said the proposal has the potential to bring economic growth to an area that has been vacant for many years.
“There will be infrastructure and traffic challenges but they can be worked through to get some housing there,” he said. “It’s a big area but we’re trying to minimize the impact it might have and allow the developer to make the right investment.”
Before the proverbial first shovel is shoved into the ground, the city will have to rezone the Port Plaza and the area located near Storey Avenue and Low Street intersection to include housing.
Newburyport was awarded a $50,000 state planning assistance grant last October to pay for consultants to look at the feasibility of rezoning the area to target new growth and development.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.