Upgrades Underway for "Tower Records" Plaza

The property many know as the “Tower Records plaza” is getting a much-awaited refresh.

Brixmor, the company that owns the shopping center officially named Burlington Square, is bringing in several new businesses and upgrading the shopping center’s outdoor spaces as part of its ongoing redevelopment plan.

Among the tenants coming in are Tatté Bakery & Café, Life Alive Organic Café, YogaSix and [solidcore], a Pilates-inspired studio, said Marc Newman, Vice President of Redevelopment at Brixmor. Newman said he thinks the new businesses will open on a staggered schedule, starting late summer and continuing through the end of the year.

The $8.5 million redevelopment of Burlington Square I, II, and III  includes “cosmetic” renovations such as updates to storefronts, a new patio in front of Tatté, and more sidewalks and pedestrian paths to integrate the Square with the neighborhood. The property needed updates as a result of natural wear and tear, said Newman; the goal is to retain tenants, accommodate new retailers, and attract future businesses. 

“It’s going to be just an overall refresh,” Newman said. The renovations, which started last December, will hopefully be completed by the end of the year.

This renovation helped prompt Life Alive Organic Café to open a new location in Burlington, said Bryan Timko, CEO of the restaurant chain, who hopes to open their Burlington location late this summer.

“It's very exciting for us. Burlington, in particular–it’s a great community,” Timko said. “It is also filled with small- and medium-size businesses, and there are just thousands and thousands of people who work in the Burlington area.”

The retail side of Burlington is “really hopping,” Timko said, with the Burlington Mall being one of the few malls in the country that is still vibrant. There are a lot of people in Burlington “during the day for work, the night for dinner, and the weekends for shopping,” he said, adding that he hopes the 4,000-square-foot space becomes a local “gathering place.”

“A lot of restaurants these days are trying to shrink their spaces a lot,” Timko said. “They want to get you in, run you through the line like a cafeteria, and they want to get you out.”

While Burlington Square is in “the heart of the Burlington retail corridor” across from the Burlington Mall, Newman said, the space has presented some challenges. It is in a flood plain next to wetlands, and the parking lot has been flooded intermittently in recent years. 

“We had spent considerable money and resources trying to identify the source of the flooding and solve for it,” Newman said. 

Brixmor ultimately decided to lift up a portion of the parking lot so that it's higher than the waterway that the shopping center drains into, Newman said. That construction started last fall.

Cameron Hayward, store manager at Lacrosse Unlimited, said he has seen people hydroplane in the parking lot. He said he also noticed a major pothole – about 3 feet wide and a foot deep – that has since been filled in. 

Hayward and John Lordan, the store manager of Title Boxing Club, said there are plans for light renovations to their storefronts including painting and new signage, but their day-to-day activities have not been impacted. 

Lee Samnang, manager of The UPS Store, said the renovations have sped up in the past two months. The drilling and pounding noises from the construction have made it difficult to speak with customers at times, he said.

“We try to apologize before they say something and explain that construction is going on,” Samnang said. “Sometimes we need to be yelling and screaming with the customers because otherwise we don’t hear each other.” 

Despite the momentary inconvenience, Samnang said he is looking forward to the project being finished and hopes that the space will be better next year.

“We’re really excited for when this is complete,” Newman said. “We think it’s going to be a real breath of fresh air for the area and property.” 

This story is part of a partnership between Burlington Buzz and the Boston University Department of Journalism.