Outlets at Kittery to be torn down, replaced by apartments and a hotel

The town of Kittery, Maine, has given final approval to a plan that would demolish a shopping outlet and replace it with apartments and a hotel.

That plan includes building a 107-unit apartment complex that would include 11 affordable housing units. It will also include a 119-room hotel and a commercial building meant for a restaurant.

The Outlets at Kittery plaza along Route 1 will be demolished as part of this plan. The town approved the project late last week.

Maine Public Radio said the town started exploring the idea of redeveloping the space several years ago as outlet stores began to leave. There are only three stores left in the plaza, and town officials are hopeful they will move to other available retail space in town.

The property is just one of many outlets containing over 120 stores along the busy, mile-long stretch of Route 1.

"What do you do with all that space? We started noticing some vacancies and thought about how can we make use of that?" Planning Board Chairman Dutch Dunkleberger told the radio station. "We have, in the past, approached the various owners about the potential for developing it into a mixed use space."

"It will be a good move for Kittery," Dunkleberger said. "It's not huge; it's not overwhelming."