46-acre project off I-495 expected to add housing, retail, jobs in Littleton

At a 46-acre mixed-use redevelopment project in Littleton, tens of thousands of square feet were signed away in one of the largest lease deals in the region this year to a global computer hardware manufacturing company, site developer Lupoli Companies announced Tuesday.

The King Street Crossing project is located at 550 King St., directly adjacent to Interstate 495. In addition to reusing existing buildings on the site, about 2.3 million square feet will be turned into multi-use buildings and outdoor community areas.

The project also will build a new town hall building for Littleton.

Of the site’s planned 600,000 square feet for office and lab space, 72,500 square feet has been leased by HIPER Global for its new U.S. headquarters.

The world-class electronics hardware manufacturer already has locations in North Andover, Marlborough and in Atlanta, Georgia. It works with top tech and defense companies worldwide on “computing solutions.”

According to site developer Lupoli Companies’ team, there’s been less activity over “the past few years” in flex and office space rentals. This makes HIPER’s commercial lease of this square footage size one of the largest deals in the area this year, they said.

“We are thrilled to welcome HIPER Global as our tenant in Littleton,” Sal Lupoli, CEO and president of King Street Crossing site developer Lupoli Companies, said in a release.

HIPER Global’s CEO, Jim Reinold, said King Street Crossing “aligns perfectly” with the company’s “growth and innovation.” He added its presence in the development will be “more than just office space” and will foster a relationship between community and technology.

Plans for the massive multi-use complex also boast 1,089 housing units, a flagship 150-key hotel and public green outdoor spaces for events and gatherings.

Restaurant and retail space will take up 115,000 square feet, and 90,000 square feet will be space for labs and research development. Walkable pedestrian paths are anticipated to weave through the campus.

King Street Crossing will be accessible off Exit 80 of I-495, located minutes from MBTA’s Fitchburg Line, the commuter rail to Boston. While highly visible from and near the highway, the developer does not expect noise to be an issue.

Phase 1 of the project is expected to begin in 2025 and finish by 2026, according to the site’s Master Plan approved by the Littleton Planning Board in June.

The first phase includes construction of two buildings and a parking garage with 8,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and commercial space, and 287 residential units.

Construction of the total complex is slated to be finished by 2037 and include seven building phases, according to the town’s records. The developer said it’s hard to estimate the project’s total cost so early in the process, but that it “represents a significant investment in Littleton and the region.”

King Street Crossing is expected to create “thousands” of jobs, similar to when another Lupoli project — the similarly sized Riverwalk project in Lawrence — created 2,000 jobs, the company said.

As of Friday, Lupoli was talking with “several other potential tenants” for the site. Broker CBRE and tenant broker Cushman and Wakefield oversaw the deal for HIPER Global and Lupoli.