By: Ethan Forman, Staff Writer, Salem News
This article originally appeared in The Salem News.
June 18, 2018
PEABODY — The Northshore Mall could take on the feel of a high-end resort, once the new Life Time fitness center opens in 2020.
Artist’s renderings of the proposed facility, released Monday, show a three-story building with an expansive outdoor pool area, featuring a large pool for lap swimming, two smaller leisure pools, a whirlpool and a bistro.
Inside, Life Time will have studio and training areas, a cafe, a full-service spa, and a Kids Academy for children ages 3 months to 11 years. The academy will offer physical activities, arts and crafts and language classes, the mall said.
Life Time Athletic Peabody would be the company’s fifth Greater Boston location. The most recent opening was in Burlington. Other Bay State locations are in Westwood, Framingham and Chestnut Hill.
“We are thrilled to have a state-of-the-art Life Time facility at the Northshore Mall,” said Mark Whiting, the mall’s manager.
The Sears store at the mall is scheduled to close in September, part of a round of 63 Sears and Kmart store closings nationwide. Plans are for much of the Sears building to be torn down by year’s end. The site will become part of a parking lot.
A site plan provided by Simon shows the location of the new fitness resort separate from the mall in the middle of the parking lot adjacent to the Route 114 entrance to the mall.
Renderings provided by Life Time are not what the final building will look like, and do not show the building in context with the mall, Whiting said in an email.
“The site plan featured reflects what was presented by Life Time and Simon to the Peabody Planning Commission. Lifetime may alter their prototype to take into account design changes/best practices being made even after their most recent opening in Burlington,” Whiting said.
Whiting said some of the existing Sears space will be reallocated to the mall, and it is anticipated it will have a restaurant, entertainment and other uses.
Two “pad” sites for potential stores shown on site plans do not have any specific plans or tenant deals in development, Whiting said.
“Northshore Mall wanted to be transparent when the property presented conceptual plans for the (Route) 114 side of the building to the city of Peabody Planning Commission and the Peabody Municipal Light Plant for plan and utility review,” Whiting said.
These plans come on the heels of a multi-million dollar makeover of the Route 114 side of the mall, called the Promenade, which features new restaurants like Bancroft & Co. and Tony C’s Sports Bar and Grill, outdoor seating, landscaping and an outdoor stage for summertime musical performances and kids’ entertainment.