The Porter Square Shopping Center has changed its name to The Mix Porter Square under the management company Wilder.
With the change comes an “evolving identity inspired by the vibrant, eclectic spirit of the Porter Square neighborhood,” according to a press release from Wilder that grows poetic in describing the collection of shops as “a place where daily errands meet moments worth lingering for … practical yet playful, familiar yet full of discovery.”
A launch party at 5 p.m. June 18 will introduce the public to The Mix, publicists said, but visitors have already seen transformation from a coat of white paint and playful murals over its traditional brick. The pedestrian walkway and courtyard around Tags Hardware has seen added benches, bistro tables and garden beds. Improvements in the coming months include a Little Free Library, rotating art installations and the return this month of a community bulletin board.
The investment was “in the seven figures,” said Jessica Peterson, director of retail marketing at Wilder, “but the real investment was in the time and energy spent working with a local architect, sign designer, landscaper and muralist to develop a plan to improve the property that focused on designing spaces that provided opportunities for social interaction and reflected the everyday unique nature of the neighborhood.”
The rebrand includes a website, themixportersquare.com, showing events from the center’s shops – including chess nights at Cafe Zing, which is preparing to reopen Tuesday after a couple of months of construction that carves out space expected to be filled by a pilates studio. Other events include herbalist tea nights at the Cambridge Naturals health and wellness store and kids craft classes at Michaels.
“This new identity supports the community and creates spaces that feel welcoming, walkable and rooted in the character of the neighborhood,” said Paige Quigley, vice president of asset management at Wilder.
Free programming “designed to foster connection, support local businesses and activate shared spaces” is part of the rebrand, according to Wilder, including live music, fitness classes and markets featuring local sellers of vintage goods and makers.
The Mix Porter Square includes chain stores such as Star Market, CVS, Michaels, Ben & Jerry’s, Panera Bread and The Halal Guys and locally owned businesses Cambridge Savings Bank, Cambridge Naturals, Café Zing, Tags Hardware and Porter Square Wine & Spirits. Wilder recently declined to allow lease renewals for the artists cooperative Sign of the Dove and nonprofit Mudflat pottery studio, though it hasn’t announced a next use for their space. The company is “focused on recruiting a community-centric retail operator or food service use. We’ll be patient to make sure it is a complementary use,” Peterson said.
TA Realty and Wilder bought the 175,687-square-foot shopping center in May 2022 from Gravestar, its owner since 1994, as part of a $390 million deal that included eight other properties from Brookline Plaza to the Pontiac Avenue Plaza in Cranston, Rhode Island. Wilder, a Boston company, operates retail properties including the Arsenal Yards mall in Watertown as well as properties in states from New England to Florida and Illinois.
In a presentation to the Porter Square Neighbors Association in July, developer Tom Wilder said he foresaw a time the shopping center became a mixed-use development with residential towers – a recent planning study said they should up to 18 stories tall – but those changes couldn’t happen until the end of some long-term leases.
“The current renovations addressed what we thought were the immediate upgrades needed to align the center with the community it serves. Thanks to Cambridge’s progressive rezoning, we can now look past the current blueprint to envision a bolder approach to density and mixed-use development,” Peterson said. “Realizing a bold vision always takes time, and we will thoughtfully prioritize input from our current tenants and immediate community as part of the process.”
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