Construction Continues At Former Underground Mall Site

ORLEANS – Long one of the most blighted properties in town, the site of the former Underground Mall could be ready to welcome residents and businesses next year.

Construction is well underway toward transforming the former Bayberry Square, the long-vacant property at 17 Nells Way, into a mixed-use housing and commercial development. 

“Work is progressing steadily but we are still 14 months away from occupancy,” the project’s owner and developer, Chris DeSisto of Boston-based Maple Hurst Builders, said in an email last week.

DeSisto purchased the 3.6-acre parcel in July 2021 for $2.1 million. The property formerly housed retail space built into the hillside at the rear of the property, earning it its Underground Mall nickname. But the businesses have long been shuttered, while the property fell into disrepair.

But today, new structures front the property, which is being redeveloped as Orleans Plaza. DeSisto initially planned to build 43 units of workforce and affordable housing on the property, but that number has since been scaled back to 29 condominium units. The project has also since been revised to introduce more commercial space on the property.

DeSisto previously said that the reduction in units was needed to help accommodate septic service on the property. The development will not be tied into town sewer.

In July, the zoning board of appeals voted to grant an amended special permit to Maple Hurst Builders for the project as revised. The current plans call for the construction of 25 two-bedroom units and four one-bredroom units. Three of the units will be permanently deed restricted as affordable, while another will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fifteen of the units (six one-bedroom and nine two-bedroom) will be housed in a three-story building on the property. An additional 11 two-bedroom units will be housed as single-story attached units atop the existing mall structure at the rear of the property. The ADA unit will be housed within the mall structure itself, while two additional units will be housed above an existing maintenance building in the rear of the property.

In the email, DeSisto said that construction had begun on the units atop the mall.

Three two-story buildings fronting the property that were initially planned for housing will now be used as commercial space, according to the zoning board’s decision. 

“In addition to providing additional commercial space, their location will also provide a sound buffer from the highway noise for the residential units located behind the new structures,” the decision reads. Plans also call for the construction of an “earthen berm” of trees and bushes that will help naturally screen the property from Route 6A. 

Plans also call for 13 of the domed spaces that make up the mall area to be used “for additional commercial uses or ancillary residential uses, and the addition of eight surface parking spaces.”

Aesthetically, the new construction will be designed as “Cape Cod mixed clapboard and shingle-style architecture,” which the zoning board said will be “complementary to the neighborhood’s visual character.”

The advancement of the Orleans Plaza plans marks a positive step forward for a property that has proven difficult to redevelop in the past. Prior to DeSisto purchasing the property, F.W. Webb came forward with plans to build a 39,000-square-foot facility. But that plan failed to garner approval from the Old Kings Highway regional historic district committee.

The project as presented will help the town make inroads on the creation of much needed affordable and workforce housing. Last year, two other developments, the 62-unit Phare project by Pennrose at the site of the former Cape Cod 5 headquarters on West Road and the 14-unit development from Housing Assistance Corporation at 107 Main St. came online to help address the need for housing in Orleans and across the region.