http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/fitness-center-outdoor-pool-planned-at-mall/article_0f175e31-f169-5a9e-9e59-6966ad185086.html
PEABODY — Sears could be demolished to make way for an upscale, three-floor gym, an outdoor pool and a new grand entrance to the Northshore Mall.
Life Time Inc., a chain of health clubs that has locations in Burlington and Chestnut Hill, wants to expand to the North Shore in a new building that would be separate from the mall, according to plans filed with the city.
Community Development Director Curt Bellavance said the company wants to dismantle the Sears building by year's end and prep the site for construction next spring. The gym will have three indoor pools and an outdoor pool for members.
"The building is pretty big," Bellavance said. "It's even going to have a pool with a water slide."
It's unclear how the project affects Sears' Peabody location. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the department store has a lease at the Northshore Mall, but he would not say when it expires. He also would not say whether Sears would relocate within the mall.
Sears initiated a formal process to explore the sale of its Kenmore brand and related assets a little over two months ago, according to their website. The company closed 39 Sears stores earlier this year.
Northshore Mall declined to comment for this story.
City officials are concerned about the strain that maintaining a facility with four pools may have on Peabody's water system, which has recently faced a few obstacles.
The City Council recently approved Mayor Ted Bettencourt's request to borrow $2.7 million to deal with low water pressure that some residents living off of Route 1 have endured for decades.
The city has also spent millions buying water from the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority after the Coolidge water treatment plant burnt down over a year ago, and is looking to rebuild the Winona water treatment plant, estimated to cost $40 million.
"Certainly there will be payment that has to be made to the city to account for additional water to handle inflow and infiltration systems," Bettencourt said. "That's something that has to be disucsses and negotiated by the city and the Northshore Mall."
The mall also wants to raise the medians at the Route 114 entrance to create a free-flowing traffic pattern, according to plans filed with the city. Right now, drivers often stop when entering the mall from Route 114 instead of continuing through the intersection, causing traffic to build up. The mall wants to address this issue.
The Community Development and Public Services departments have recommended that a third party be brought in to review the project.
"We want to have someone looking at the water system, the waste water system and the traffic," Bellavance said. "Those are the three things we want to hire outside consultants to review on our behalf."
Where Sears now stands will become a parking lot with a small portion of that space taken up by a new entry way into the mall. On either side will be restaurants that have yet to be named. Life Time Athletic, the company's fifth Greater Boston location, will be in front of the mall's main entrance.
Plans show an adult lap pool, a children's lap pool, a leisure pool, a bar and café, a spa, and men and women's locker rooms complete with saunas, steam rooms and laundry on the first floor.
The second floor will have two yoga studios, a pilates room, barre and cycle studios, two basketball courts, a kids gym, child care called Kids Academy, and a lounge. The top floor will be free weights, cardio and stretching areas with a medical center. The entire building will be 115,000 square feet, not including the outdoor pool.
Kids Academy, for children three months to 11 years old, includes physical activities as well as arts and crafts, music, Spanish immersion and homework help, according to Senior Director Natalie Bushaw of Life Time's public relations and communications department.
"It's far beyond what most people have seen," she said of the day care.
The outdoor pool will be adjacent to the gym, surrounded by trees and shrubs. A tree-lined walkway will take gym-goers to the new grand entrance of the mall, which will display its redesigned logo.
The construction will bring the mall from 6,949 parking spaces to 6,619, which will still meet their required ratio.
A representative for the project, which is in the site plan review stage, presented an overview of the proposal to the Planning Board Thursday night. Since the use is by-right, the company is allowed to pursue their construction plans after the Planning Board issues a building permit. They do not have to go before the City Council.
Mary Markos may be contacted at 978-338-2660 or mmarkos@salemnews.com.