Emerald Square

Emerald Square is a three-level enclosed shopping mall located in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, situated along U.S. Route 1 and I-295 near the Cumberland, Rhode Island border. Opened in 1989, the mall features of leasable retail space and primarily serves northern Bristol County, southern Norfolk County, and Providence County. At its peak in the 1990s, Emerald Square housed more than 120 stores, including anchor tenants JCPenney, Sears, and G. Fox (Filene's). As of 2025, the mall is anchored by JCPenney and two Macy's stores, with the former Sears anchor space remaining vacant. Currently owned by Summit Properties USA, Emerald Square has experienced a decline in occupancy and foot traffic, with vacancy rates exceeding 50%.

Emerald Square is a three-level enclosed shopping mall located in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, situated along U.S. Route 1 and I-295 near the Cumberland, Rhode Island border. Opened in 1989, the mall features of leasable retail space and primarily serves northern Bristol County, southern Norfolk County, and Providence County. At its peak in the 1990s, Emerald Square housed more than 120 stores, including anchor tenants JCPenney, Sears, and G. Fox (Filene's). As of 2025, the mall is anchored by JCPenney and two Macy's stores, with the former Sears anchor space remaining vacant. Currently owned by Summit Properties USA, Emerald Square has experienced a decline in occupancy and foot traffic, with vacancy rates exceeding 50%.

History

Emerald Square Mall was first conceived in the early 1980s as a joint venture between New England Development and The Pyramid Companies with the intention of creating a modern, multi-level shopping center that would function as a regional retail hub for the suburbs north of Providence, Rhode Island. The project emerged during a wave of "second generation" regional mall development between 1985 and 2000—a period that also saw the construction of other major malls in Massachusetts, including the Independence Mall (now Kingston Collection), the Berkshire Mall, and the Silver City Galleria. The chosen site in North Attleborough was largely undeveloped at the time, but its proximity to the junction of U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 295 was seen as offering enough market potential to support a large-scale retail complex. Emerald Square Mall officially opened on August 10, 1989. The name "Emerald Square" is a reference chosen to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of The Wizard of Oz film. At its opening, the mall featured approximately 4,350 parking spaces, including both multi-level parking garages and surface lots. The original anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, and G. Fox, with Lechmere added as a fourth anchor in 1992. In 1993, the G. Fox store was rebranded as Filene's following corporate consolidation. Lechmere closed in 1997 after the chain was liquidated, and Lord & Taylor acquired the vacant space in 1998, and expanded it before opening the following year. Later in 1998, Pyramid sold its stake in the mall to New England Development, which then transferred the property to a joint venture led by Simon Property Group in 1999 as part of a broader portfolio sale. That same year, a carousel was installed in the food court. Lord & Taylor closed its Emerald Square location in 2004 as part of a broader repositioning strategy. The vacated space was converted into a second Filene's store which opened in 2005. Following the merger of May Department Stores and Federated Department Stores, both Filene’s locations were rebranded as Macy’s in 2006; this made the mall distinctive for housing two separate Macy’s stores—one in the former G. Fox/Filene’s space and another in the former Lord & Taylor/Men’s & Home space—under the same roof. During this period, the mall had spurred commercial growth along the nearby Route 1 corridor, with the development of numerous strip malls and power centers surrounding the property.

List of anchor stores

See also

Silver City Galleria former enclosed mall in Taunton, demolished Swansea Mall former enclosed mall in Swansea, under redevelopment New Harbour Mall former enclosed mall in Fall River, redeveloped into SouthCoast Marketplace

References

External links

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1343105097 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.