What’s Really Happening at the Old Kmart Site? A Clear Breakdown of Newburyport’s Port Plaza Redevelopment

If you live in Greater Newburyport, you’ve probably driven past the old Kmart property and wondered what on earth is going on over there. This question comes up constantly—from longtime homeowners to first-time buyers trying to make sense of how our housing market is evolving.

In our latest local development series, we dig into the new Port Plaza Landing project, a 212-unit mixed-income residential community proposed for the former Kmart site. You can watch the quick overview on Instagram here or the full deep-dive conversation on YouTube here.

Below is a full summary of what’s planned, why it matters, and how this development fits into the broader conversation about housing, growth, and character in Newburyport.

📍 The Basics: What’s Being Proposed at the Kmart Property?

The redevelopment—often referred to as Port Plaza Landing—calls for:

• 212 new rental units

• 25% designated affordable housing, far above the state minimum

• Several multi-story residential buildings

• New pedestrian pathways and updated site circulation

• The largest residential building ever proposed in the city

The project is designed as mixed-income housing, which means a combination of market-rate and income-restricted units. This structure is meant to help address the region’s well-documented shortage of attainable housing while meeting state requirements around production and affordability.

🏙 Why This Site?

Kmart was a massive, underutilized commercial property with limited long-term viability. The location sits inside one of the busiest commercial corridors in the city—but it also happens to be one of the few parcels large enough to support housing at this scale.

Residents often ask: Why not put another grocery store there? Or a recreation center? Or something “less dense”?

The reality is that:

• Commercial anchors are extremely expensive to bring in.

• Retail uses struggle without strong foot traffic.

• Few alternative uses are financially feasible without some form of housing.

• State housing mandates make residential development a more predictable path forward.

This is why sites like Port Plaza—long seen as “suburban commercial”—are increasingly transitioning into mixed-use or residential formats across Massachusetts.

🏡 What Are People Concerned About?

Whenever a project of this size is proposed, emotions run high. The most common concerns we hear from residents include:

• Scale and height of the buildings

• Traffic increases

• Strain on city services and schools

• Loss of traditional or historic “character”

Depending on who you ask, this development either provides much-needed relief in a severely supply-constrained market… or represents too large a shift in a city with tightly held expectations around growth.

What’s important to understand is that these tensions exist across nearly every town in Essex County—because communities are trying to balance preservation with reality: people need places to live, and demand continues to outpace supply.

🔍 Why This Project Matters for Buyers and Sellers

A project like Port Plaza Landing affects the entire local market:

For Buyers

More rental inventory helps relieve pressure on purchase prices by giving people temporary options while they search for a home.

For Sellers

Increased housing supply is often viewed as a negative, but in communities like Newburyport—where inventory rarely meets demand—it may stabilize buyer behavior without devaluing historic or high-end homes.

For the Broader Community

Affordable units help maintain economic diversity, supporting workers, seniors, young adults, and families who otherwise may be priced out.

In short: this project isn’t just a building—it’s a shift in how the region responds to long-standing housing shortages.

🎥 Watch the Deep Dive

If you want the full conversation—with context, community feedback, history, and our professional perspective—you can watch the full video here:
👉 YouTube (Full Breakdown): https://youtu.be/eWUeXpO693o?si=6bL7oWJuzzDrnn0s
👉 Instagram (Short Version): https://www.instagram.com/p/DPoqFk4DQlY/

👉 Listen to the Podcast on Apple Music: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-1-the-biggest-development-projects-reshaping/id1852076582?i=1000736149796

We’ll continue covering major developments across Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, West Newbury, Ipswich, and neighboring towns—because understanding what’s being built, why it matters, and how it impacts the housing landscape is one of the most important parts of navigating today’s market.

If you ever have a question about a project—big or small—reach out. We love helping people make sense of what’s changing in our community.