A long-planned project to redevelop the former Boston Store at Southridge Mall is moving ahead after receiving key approval from the Greendale Plan Commission this week.
The commission on Wednesday unanimously endorsed a general development plan for the project, known as Verdell on the Green, marking the first formal approval for the proposal.
The redevelopment has been in planning stages since 2021 and could eventually bring more than 700 apartment units, 20,000 square feet of retail space and a 15,000-square-foot activated greenspace to the site at 5300 S. 76th St., located on the western side of Southridge Mall.
Milwaukee-based Barrett Lo Visionary Development is leading the project, which is designed by Chicago architecture firm KTGY.
The first phase, which could begin construction later this year following further approvals, is expected to include 235 market-rate apartments and about 5,000 square feet of retail. Each phase of the plan will need a separate detailed development plan approval.
The remaining phases would bring additional housing and remaining retail space: 175 units in phase two, 155 units in phase three and 115 units in the final phase. Planned amenities include a pool, fitness center, club lounge, dog spa, golf simulator, co-working space, and more.
The buildings will be centered around a large public greenspace that is designed for year-round community use and to create a flow of traffic to the existing shopping mall.
BLVD reached an agreement with the village to redevelop the former Boston Store in 2021, but plans have been held up in part due to decades-old covenants on the Southridge Mall properties that prohibit developments like BLVD’s from being built at the mall site. The village has come to preliminary agreements with all other mall property owners to remove those restrictions.
