$26 million going into mall redevelopment

Lowe's would be one of three separate buildings on the site

Construction of a 168,000-square-foot Lowe's, demolition of the middle portion of Mountain Valley Mall and a design upgrade of the two end portions, including Hannaford and the old Kmart space, are all part of a planned $26 million redevelopment of the mall property.KGI Properties, LLC, with offices in Boston, Mass., and Providence, R.I., is purchasing the 30-acre property from Arliss Hill, with closing expected by the end of this month. Representatives from KGI and Lowe's met with the planning board last week to give a conceptual overview of the plans (see Business, page 14). Formal review of the project will probably begin in April.Andy Rockett, one of the owners of KGI, said Monday his company is investing approximately $19 million in the purchase and redevelopment of the site, and Lowe's is putting up another $7 million."When we initially looked at the market, we knew Arliss had expressed some interest in selling, and we like the market and the existing retailers that are in the market," Rockett said. "As we did our due diligence, we recognized that there was an interest from national retailers Lowe's ended up being the one we moved forward with in locating in the Mount Washington Valley. We see the mall as the center of the retail strip for the valley, and we see a great opportunity to redevelop that mall."The project includes: Demolition of approximately 150,000 square feet of existing mall space, including JCPenney. Relocation of JCPenney to the old Kmart space, with the movie theaters and Panda Garden restaurant remaining in place. Design improvements to the Hannaford building and the building housing JCPenney, the theaters and Panda Garden. Construction of a 168,000-square-foot Lowe's, including 116,000 of retail space plus a garden center and offices.When the project is completed, there will be three separate buildings rather than a mall, which may prompt a name change."Our architects are coming up with creative ideas for our review in terms of a new identity," Rockett said. "It won't be an enclosed mall anymore. We wanted to leave Mountain Valley in there; we're just not sure about Mountain Valley Mall."KGI is also purchasing from Hill some additional land near the mall, including a parcel at the intersection of North-South Road and Mountain Valley Mall Boulevard and another behind Wendy's. Rockett said one the parcels could potentially be used for a sit-down restaurant and another for a doughnut shop with a drive-through. But, he added, "We haven't committed to anyone yet."Rockett said construction on the mall site would be timed so that JCPenney would close in its present location one day and open in its new location the next. Access to the cinema and Panda Garden would be maintained during construction. Hannaford has its own access and would not be affected.Mall tenants whose leases have expired will have to close or relocate. Tenants with longer term leases will be provided space in the portion of the mall that remains.KGI is proposing changes to the traffic entrance across from Wal-Mart."What we're proposing there is to limit the current access the mall has to a right-turn, out-only exit, and that would prevent a number of turning movements that currently exist at that intersection," Rockett said. "We didn't want to propose a traffic light there. We want to try to limit the traffic lights on the North-South Road, and we felt it was too close to the Route 302 intersection. So we're going to try to make our entrance farther north, and we're proposing to signalize the intersection at Mountain Valley Mall Boulevard. We're waiting for our traffic engineer to finalize his traffic study to see what turn lanes would be necessary and the length of the turning lanes so we can get traffic that's waiting at the light out of the flow of traffic on the North-South Road."Rockett said he will be seeking approvals for the project through the spring and early summer and hopes to start construction in the fall. Opening could be in late spring of 2006.Rockett said the project will be put out to bid. A general contractor will be hired, and there will be numerous subcontractors as well. Rockett said local companies could be involved in the construction."The way things work, local people may be able to do the work at a more cost-effective rate," he said, "so they'll get their opportunity."