“But much like downtown, we want to plan for it, not react to it.”Īpplications for residential zoning at the former Hollywood Hits and Denny’s sites near the mall have gone before Danvers’ zoning board in the last several years, Bartha said. “There’s a demand everywhere for residential and with the hospital, restaurants and retail stores (near Liberty Tree), this does seem to indicate that residences would be successful there,” he said. But the company never approached the town with any project proposals or requests to amend zoning there to include residential units. Simon discussed adding residential zoning to the property with the town in 2019, Bartha said. But over the past decade, as residential property values have accelerated more quickly than commercial values, Bartha said, the mall has slid from accounting for 1.4% of the town’s taxable value in 2012 to just under 1% now. The interior of the mall and store buildings owned by Simon bring in about $1 million in property taxes annually for Danvers, making it one of the largest taxpayers in town. “Before three years ago, it was a bit better, but after COVID, it’s nothing good.” Hanan Khatter is an employee at Pierced Utopia, a piercing shop located near the mall’s food court. “Simon is struggling with its long-term plans there for its interior, but that’s not unique,” Bartha said. It’s the model we all grew up with, the interior stores and the food court, that’s struggled,” Bartha said. “We’ve known for a long time that the anchor stores there with exterior entrances do really well. The food court is down to two vendors, with spots that once housed a McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts now empty, and areas that once held shops now are occupied by gyms or other non-retail businesses. One corridor in the building that used to be filled with storefronts only holds blank walls and a Kohl’s entrance besides doors to the Arc’s office space and a spa. “But it’s matching how the world is changing.” “I miss it being busy here and having more people,” Mandri said. A resident of Danvers for the last 20 years, Mandri said the mall has changed quite a bit since she used to take her daughters there as kids.
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Sadete Mandri, the manager of the Arc’s Parcels storefront near the movie theater, said the Arc takes up about 26,000 square feet of Liberty Tree.
Netcast Church and the nonprofit organization Northeast Arc also use a large portion of the mall. An AMC theater takes up a sizable chunk of the middle of the mall, as do stores such as Old Navy and Marshalls. The mall is 88% occupied by storefronts and other businesses, according to the listing. “I can’t imagine it staying in the current state it is as retail, at least not entirely,” Bennett said. He hopes the property will do more of this moving forward, he said. He isn’t sure what will happen to the mall if the company finds a buyer.ĭanvers Select Board Chair Daniel Bennett said Liberty Tree has never been especially involved in building the town’s culture. Simon has listed the property before but never sold it, Bartha said. A spokesperson for the company declined a request for comment about the listing. Simon has not publicly shared the listing price or what might be in store next for the property. While Target is part of the mall property, some of the other anchor stores with exterior entrances - such as Kohl’s and Best Buy - are not owned by Simon, explained Danvers Town Manager Steve Bartha. The mall building and the land it sits on is valued at a combined $42 million, according to town assessment records. Liberty Tree was bought by Simon Property Group - the same investment company that owns the Northshore Mall in Peabody - in 2003, according to town records. Clocking in at 454,000 square feet, the space has been a staple for shoppers on the North Shore since it was built in 1972.
The mall has been listed on the real estate company JLL’s website since July 19. The Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers is up for sale.
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