The first step has been taken by Simon Property Group to demolish Macy’s Home Store and add a cinema and restaurant to the Auburn Mall.
The company submitted a request for determination from the Auburn Conservation Commission last week on a preliminary plan to put the theater and restaurant in place, according to the town’s department of development and inspectional services.
This is the first step in a project that would have to appear before both the conservation commission and planning board. The commission’s response to the plan could very well shape the scope of the project moving forward, according to a department representative.
Details on this very preliminary plan for the theater were scarce, but it does involve the demolition of the current Macy’s Home Store building and putting up the stand-alone buildings for both the cinema and restaurant within the footprint of the existing structure.
Simon Property Group, through a spokesperson, declined to comment as the company does not comment on lease issues.
The news comes on the back of new information that shed information on the ongoing financial struggle of the Greendale Mall. In the Sept. 14 Worcester Business Journal print edition story ‘Malls lean on innovation for success‘, experts said that additional entertainment options such as a cinema or restaurant are increasingly necessary in order for malls to continue to be competitive.
