Legacy Place

Legacy Place is an open-air lifestyle center located in Dedham, Massachusetts, approximately southwest of downtown Boston. The center encompasses approximately 675,000 square feet (62,700 m²) of gross leasable area on , and features a combination of retail stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, and office space organized around an outdoor street layout. Anchor tenants include Whole Foods Market, Apple, L.L.Bean, Showcase Cinema de Lux, along with multiple outparcel buildings including Costco Wholesale.

The center was developed by WS Development and National Amusements and opened in 2009 on the site of the former Showcase Cinemas Dedham complex. It is situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 (Route 128) and Route 1. It is located approximately from the Dedham Corporate Center MBTA Commuter Rail station. Legacy Place primarily serves the towns of Dedham, Westwood, Needham, Norwood, and surrounding communities in Norfolk County.

History

The site now occupied by Legacy Place was originally home to the Dedham Drive-In theater, which opened in 1948 and operated until the late 1970s. In 1973, the Showcase Cinemas Dedham opened adjacent to the drive-in as a three-screen indoor movie theater. The cinema expanded over time, reaching a total of 12 screens by 1991. In the mid-2000s, WS Development, in partnership with National Amusements, initiated plans to redevelop the site into a mixed-use, open-air lifestyle center. The redevelopment was driven by the aging condition of the cinema facilities and the property's strategic location near major highways. The project was also influenced by the conversion of the nearby Dedham Mall into an open-air power center by 2005, which created a market gap for a traditional mall-style shopping center in the area.

The Showcase Cinemas Dedham closed on April 10, 2008, and was demolished in May 2008. Construction of Legacy Place began shortly after the demolition, and officially opened to the public on August 27, 2009. Initial anchor tenants included Whole Foods Market, L.L.Bean, and Showcase Cinema de Lux. Other early tenants comprised Apple, Borders, Kings Bowling, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Aquitaine, and Met Bar & Grill. The center opened with approximately 50 tenants, with plans for additional openings in the following months. Borders closed in 2011, and its space was later occupied by Barnes & Noble. In 2019, new tenants such as Kendra Scott, Altar'd State, and SkinMD joined; renovations were carried out in 2020 and 2022 to update the center's facilities. In 2023, tenants including Nike, Athleta, Industrious, Shake Shack, Lululemon, Sephora, Sweetgreen, and Yard House were present at the center.

In March 2025, Madison International Realty acquired a 50% ownership stake in Legacy Place, entering into a joint venture with WS Development, which continues to serve as the operating and managing partner.

Layout

Legacy Place is classified as an open-air lifestyle center and is arranged around a network of interior streets and sidewalks, with storefronts facing outward toward landscaped walkways and a central parking lot. The layout incorporates multiple free-standing buildings in addition to the primary retail corridors, with designated parking areas surrounding the site. Parking is free of charge, and spaces are distributed to allow direct access to both anchor tenants and smaller inline stores. A structured parking garage is also located on the southern portion of the site, adjacent to the Showcase Cinema de Lux, to accommodate additional vehicle capacity.

List of anchors

References

External links

Legacy Place website
{{Dedham

Shopping malls in the United States
Buildings and structures in Dedham, Massachusetts
2009 establishments in Massachusetts
Shopping malls established in 2009
Shopping malls in Massachusetts
Lifestyle centers (retail)