South Shore Plaza

Shopping mall in Braintree, Massachusetts, US

South Shore Plaza

Mall interior looking toward the former Nordstrom wing (2012)

General information
Status| Open
Type| Shopping mall
Location| 250 Granite Street, Braintree, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates| 42°13′14″N 71°01′26″W﻿ / ﻿42.22044°N 71.02387°W﻿ / 42.22044; -71.02387
Opened| 1961; 64 years ago (1961)
Renovated|

* 1995–1996
* 2008–2010

Owner| Simon Property Group
Management| Simon Property Group
Technical details
Floor count|

* 2 (mall concourse)
* 3 (Dick’s House of Sport)
* 4 (former Jordan Marsh, since demolished)
* Partial basement level

Floor area| 1,586,446 square feet (147,385.7 m2) of gross leasable area
Other information
Number of stores| 192
Number of anchors|

* 4 (occupied)
* 2 (vacant)

Website
simon.com/mall/south-shore-plaza
References
[1]

South Shore Plaza is a shopping mall in Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. The mall spans 1,586,446 square feet (147,385.7 m2) of selling space, making it the largest mall in New England by square footage and the 16th-largest mall in the country. The mall was anchored by Filene's when it opened as an open-air plaza in 1961. Jordan Marsh, Lord & Taylor, and Sears opened stores around the time the mall was enclosed in 1976. As of March 2025[update], the mall is anchored by Sears, Macy's, Primark, and Target, with Dick's House of Sport filling the vacancy left by Nordstrom by 2026.[2]

## Development

[edit]

### Establishment and early expansions

[edit]

South Shore Plaza originally opened in 1961 as an open-air plaza with a 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m2) Filene's and thirty smaller stores. A 300,316 sq ft (27,900 m2) Jordan Marsh opened in 1967. The center was enclosed in 1976 and saw additional anchors, such as Lord & Taylor in 1979 and Sears in 1980, when the mall reached 100 stores. In 1995 and 1996, a second level was added, including the "Boardwalk Cafes" food court, and the Filene's store was expanded to include a home store. This nearly doubled the mall's size, giving it a bright and airy feel, largely because of abundant skylighting and spacious corridors.

### Effects of Macy's conversions

[edit]

Also in 1996, the Jordan Marsh store was renamed Macy's. In 1998, Simon Property Group acquired the mall owner, Corporate Property Investors, and assumed management.

In 2005, May Department Stores, at the time the parent of Lord & Taylor and Filene's, was acquired by Federated Department Stores, the owner of Macy's. As a result, the Filene's store was briefly closed in March 2006, before using the space to relocate its Macy's store that May. The remainder of the Filene's stores were converted Macy's later that year. Federated sold the Lord & Taylor chain later that year and sold the vacant Jordan Marsh/Macy's space to Simon Property Group. Filene's Basement, one of the mall's former anchors, filed for bankruptcy protection on May 4, 2009. New York's Crown Acquisitions made a bid to buy Filene's Basement including their famous Downtown Crossing location which closed for reconstruction in 2007.[3] The South Shore Plaza store in Braintree closed in December 2011.[4]

### 2010 expansion and renovation

[edit]

A redevelopment opened on the former site of Jordan Marsh on March 26, 2010. The center now holds 2,165,000 sq ft (201,100 m2), making it New England's largest mall, and includes a newly constructed three-level, 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) Nordstrom, though the Jordan Marsh building was four stories. Simon Property Group announced on May 12, 2009, that they were in negotiations with the town of Braintree and Target to include a Target store on the lowest level of the 3 level mall addition.[5] Its grand opening was on October 10, 2010.[6] Numerous high-end retailers have joined the mall in the Nordstrom wing, including Sur La Table, Vera Bradley, and Sephora. The mall also received new carpeting, wall decor, food court seating/televisions, and signage as part of the renovations. The parking deck bridges that once connected to Jordan Marsh have now been restored.

### Present-day developments

[edit]

In 2017, the Irish clothing retailer, Primark, opened in the former top level of Sears.[7]

On August 27, 2020, it was announced that upscale specialty department store retailer Lord & Taylor would shutter its traditional brick and mortar format as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

Nordstrom closed on March 8, 2025, due to the expiration of their lease, and Dick's House of Sport will be occupied in the former Nordstrom space by 2026.[9]

## List of anchor stores

[edit]

Name  | No.
of floors  | Year
opened  | Year
closed  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Dick's House of Sport | 2  | 2026  | —  | Will be replacing Nordstrom
DSW | 1  | 2013  | —  | Replaced Filene's Basement
Filene's | 2  | 1961  | 2006  |
Filene's Basement | 1  |  | 2011  |
Jordan Marsh | 4  | 1967  | 1996  |
Lord & Taylor | 2  | 1979  | 2020  |
Macy's | 4  | 1996  | 2006  | Replaced Jordan Marsh
2  | 2006  | —  | Replaced Filene's
Nordstrom | 3  | 2010  | 2025  | New construction that replaced Jordan Marsh site
Primark | 1  | 2017  | —  | Replaced the second level of Sears
R. H. Stearns | 2  | 1962  | 1977  |
Sears | 2  | 1980  | —  | Downsized to first floor and basement in 2015. One of the last of 8 remaining Sears.
Target | 1  | 2010  | —  | New construction that replaced Jordan Marsh site

## Incidents

[edit]

On July 3, 2020, a gunman fired six shots in the mall, injuring a 15-year-old girl. The gunman was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by three years of probation.[10]

On January 22, 2022, one man shot another during a confrontation in Forever 21. Two days later, it was announced that the victim, 26-year-old Dijoun C. Beasley from Dorchester, Massachusetts, had died due to his injuries after being taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment. Following the shooting, police also stated that the killing was gang-related.[11]

On August 18, 2022, a reportedly confused elderly woman drove her car directly into the second story promenade of the mall across a bridge from the parking garage. No injuries were reported.[12]

## In pop culture

[edit]

In 2008, the mall was used to film sequences of the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Property Information". Simon Property Group. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
2. ^ Thoelcke, Trey (March 4, 2024). "These Are the Only 12 Sears Stores Left in America". 24/7 Wall St.
3. ^ Donna Goodison (May 5, 2009). "N.Y. firm to nab 17 Filene's Basement stores for $22M". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012.
4. ^ "UPDATE: Filene's Basement at South Shore Plaza Closing by Year's End". Braintree, MA Patch. October 18, 2011.
5. ^ "South Shore Plaza in talks with Target as anchor tenant". Boston Business Journal. May 12, 2009.
6. ^ "South Shore Plaza" (PDF). Simon Property Group. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
7. ^ staff, Patriot Ledger. "Primark store at South Shore Plaza opens Thursday". The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA.
8. ^ Bomey, Nathan. "Lord & Taylor going out of business: Store closings, liquidation sales begin". USA TODAY.
9. ^ Riley, Neal (January 7, 2025). "Nordstrom is closing stores at 2 Massachusetts malls. Another retail chain will replace both. - CBS Boston". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
10. ^ "15-year-old wounded after 6 gunshots fired at the South Shore Plaza". WCVB-TV Channel 5 (ABC Affiliate for Boston). July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
11. ^ Howard, Marcus E. "Update: Man, 26, dead after weekend shooting at South Shore Plaza". www.boston.com.
12. ^ staff, Patriot Ledger. "'Elderly' woman drives SUV onto second floor of South Shore Plaza". The Patriot Ledger.
13. ^ "'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' has local flavor". Wicked Local: Braintree. Retrieved July 17, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* Simon Malls
* South Shore Plaza

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