SWAMPSCOTT — Starbucks lovers will get their daily fix of espresso in a different Vinnin Square location starting this week.
The town’s Starbucks, located at 1016 Paradise Road, closed this week, and will reopen on Thursday in its new location at the Swampscott Mall, according to Sarah Klaman, who does leasing for Centercorp Retail Properties, which owns the mall, except for Stop & Shop.
The move is part of the Salem-based real estate firm’s reconfiguration of the old Walgreens building at 450 Paradise Road, which also houses three other new tenants, B. Good, Orangetheory Fitness and European Wax Center, which all opened last month. The building was renovated and divided into the four businesses.
In its new location, Starbucks will have a drive-through, which was added as part of the Swampscott Mall reconfiguration. Klaman said Centercorp chopped 25 feet off the back of the building that connected the old Walgreens to Bertucci’s and created the drive-through space and made it a free-standing space.
She said outdoor seating space was created for Starbucks and Bertucci’s and the cafe will also see an improvement in parking over the tight parking lot at its former location.
“We’re very excited about the lineup of other tenants as well,” Klaman said. “It’s driving a lot of traffic to the center with people coming to exercise (and) get their food and coffee. It’s just really exciting.”
Peter Kane, director of community development, said he hasn’t heard of a new tenant looking at occupying the old Starbucks location yet.
“There’s a few benefits we’re (the town is) getting out of reconfiguration,” Kane said. “There’s a new mix of businesses. One business is replaced by four businesses that all help to interrelate with one another and offer a wider selection of retail options.”
Kane said it also helps to improve pedestrian access because as part of the project, the parking lot was reconfigured to add in a new access point with a sidewalk that goes up to the reconfigured building from Paradise Road.
He said reimagining the Swampscott Mall was a three-phase project, which required approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on three different occasions.
Part of the reconfiguration project was moving the Walgreens from its former location at 450 Paradise across the street to 505 Paradise next to Boston Market. That move took place in fall 2016 — the former tenants in that building, The UPS Store, Paradise Cleaners and Home Decor Group, were moved over to the mall, Klaman said.
“We kind of switched them out if you will,” Klaman said. “We moved everybody around so we could still accommodate everyone, but they’re just in different spots. In the meantime, we built drive-throughs for Walgreens and Starbucks.”
