Mashpee Commons was the first retrofit of a strip retail center into a traditional town center that for over thirty years has provided the surrounding 23 square-mile suburban community of Mashpee, MA, its walkable urban node. With the redevelopment of a failed 1960s shopping plaza already underway, DPZ was invited in 1988 by visionary developer Cornish Associates to help master plan the commercial center and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The housing in Mashpee Commons has been slow to materialize due to regulatory hurdles, but is now on track to provide a diversity of affordable attached and multi-family options. Helping to guide the transformation into an authentic New England village, has been the skillful contributions of designers like Randall Imai, of Imai Keller Moore Architects, and Bill Dennis.
In May 2002, DPZ held an update charrette to finalize the structure of the project as a finished town. Other design workshops have followed at regular intervals, including one in the Spring of 2018.
Development Approach
Local & regional blended: notable mix of national retailers and local "mom-and-pop" merchants.
Entertainment & services: cinema, restaurants, banks, apparel, supermarket and drug stores coexist.
Aging in place: housing options for starters, move-ups, luxury & seniors.
