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Architects for the project discussed with planning officials a proposal to build nearly 200 apartments and commercial development at the iconic Kowloon property in Saugus.
The iconic Kowloon restaurant offered a glimpse of what could become of its Saugus property at a planning board meeting this month, including showing off renderings of two buildings with nearly 200 apartment units.
The news comes amid years-long speculation of what might happen to the Kowloon property. Several years ago the Wong family told the public that the 75-year-old pan-Asian tiki restaurant would likely downsize in a few years.
The proposal that Michael McKeown, a partner at New Hampshire’s Dennis Mires Architects, presented to Saugus’ planning board on Oct. 2 featured two buildings and a total of 198 one-bedroom apartments. The first floor of these buildings also includes “high-end commercial construction.”
A new iteration of Kowloon would eventually move into one of those commercial spots, first into a temporary space in the first building and then into its forever home in the second building. The permanent Kowloon space will take over the entire first floor of the second building but shrink from its current and giant 1,200-seat restaurant to around 300 to 400 seats, McKeown said.
Kowloon owner Bobby Wong told Boston.com in 2022 that the new space, while smaller, will keep some of the Polynesian decor the restaurant is known for, but added that customers should expect a “freshened up” Kowloon.
McKeown said Kowloon would remain open even during construction, building the two complexes one at a time, likely taking 14 months to construct one building.
It’s expected that construction will begin at the Route 1 property some time in 2026, but first the project’s team needs approval from the Saugus planning board, McKeown said. The board approved to hire a company to do a site plan review and to discuss the proposal again at their Nov. 6 meeting.
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