Premium Outlets Phase II in Beginning Stages

Just a little more than a year after the Merrimack Premium Outlets held their grand opening, representatives from the Outlets are due to meet with the Zoning Board of Adjustment Wednesday evenin to discuss the beginning of Phase II of the project.

The owners of the 410,000 square foot open airshopping center are seeking a variance on the lot size for Phase II of the project, which will bring another 150,000 square feet of retail shopping space to the 100-store mall.

According to the supporting paperwork filed with the ZBA agenda for the June 26 meeting, MPO would like to split the 143.99 parcel of land into two lots, and use the smaller of the two lots, 32.18 acres, to construct the second phase of shops and the associated parking, which includes underground parking. According to the memorandum from the Community Development Office to the ZBA, MPO said the request is for financial purposes.

A section of the zoning ordinance that applies to the MPO property calls for the shops to be situated on at least 100 acres, which is why a variance is needed.

In splitting the lot, the first phase of the project would continue to comply with the ordinance as it would still be 111.81 acres.

Should the ZBA grant the variance, it would move to the planning board for subdivision approval, and as such, the Community Development Offie is recommending if the ZBA approves the variance, it does so on condition of MPO securing subdivision approval from the Planning Board.

Get the full ZBA agenda here, and read the full memo from Community Development to the board here.