Swansea Mall

Swansea Mall was a regional shopping mall located in Swansea, Massachusetts. It served the Southeastern Massachusetts area. Located off Exit 3 of I-195, the building is situated at the intersection of U.S. Route 6 and Massachusetts Route 118, on Swansea Mall Drive. It had three out-parcel buildings: a Walmart building behind the mall, a former Toys "R" Us, a shared PriceRite (closed in 2020)[3] & Dollar Tree (formerly a Service Merchandise). The Swansea Crossings shopping plaza is across the street, and contains a Big Lots and a Tractor Supply Company. The mall closed permanently on March 31, 2019. It was purchased by Anagnost Companies in May 2019 at auction. Redevelopment has begun on the mall.

Swansea Mall
Swansea Mall Logo
LocationSwansea, Massachusetts
Coordinates41.755261°N 71.218296°W / 41.755261; -71.218296 (Swansea Mall)
Address262 Swansea Mall Drive, Swansea, MA 02777
Opening date1975
Closing dateMarch 31, 2019
DeveloperArlen Realty[1]
OwnerAnagnost Companies
ArchitectRobert W. Kahn[2]
No. of stores and services90
No. of anchor tenants4
No. of floors1

History

In 1970, the newly-merged Arlen Realty and Development Corporation began an expansion of their regional mall division in the South Coast of Massachusetts by opening the North Dartmouth Mall in 1971 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Following the initial success of the North Dartmouth Mall, Arlen sought to expand to other underserved markets in the area. The town of Swansea, Massachusetts was determined to have enough market potential to justify the construction of a regional mall near the junction of Massachusetts Route 118 and Route 6. Construction on the Swansea Mall would begin during March 1974.[4]

Construction riots

During construction of the mall, there were issues between union and non-union workers that led to multiple fights between the sides and several injuries.[4] Tensions arose when local unions accused the general contractor of outsourcing labor to out of state non-union workers in order to reduce labor costs. On September 2, 1974, it was reported that over two-thousand unionized workers entered and vandalized the construction site to protest the ongoing project. Several violent altercations occurred between law enforcement and the unionized laborers; five police officers and five union workers were injured during the riot.

Despite the large congregation of rioters at the scene, damages accumulated on the construction site were determined to only amount to $12,000; construction on the mall would resume a week later without issue.[5]

Operational history

Swansea Mall originally opened in 1975 with two anchors: Sears and Edgar Department Stores.[6][7] The mall had a 4-screen movie theater. In the early 1980s, the mall expanded and added two anchors, national discount department store Caldor and Rhode Island-based department store Apex. Two out-parcels were located just south of the original mall, populated by Toys "R" Us and Service Merchandise.[8][7]

View of the neon-lit atrium, 2018

In 1989, the mall underwent a major interior renovation. By the 1990s, the movie theater was closed, original anchor Edgar's, then out-of-business, was replaced by Jordan Marsh, the hall space was altered with the removal of water fountains, the installation of new lighting, and new floor tiling, and the mall's logo was changed to its current design.

In 1996, Jordan Marsh was sold to Macy's.[9] Caldor suffered damage during a fire in 1997 and was closed for a year of renovation.[10] It closed permanently when the company went out of business in 1999.[7][10] Several restaurants left the mall in the late '90s, such as the pizzeria Roman Delight and Newport Creamery. In 1995, the food court was opened.

In 2001, a Walmart replaced the previous Caldor location after its purchase in 1999.[11] Apex closed the same year.[7][12]

Walmart moved out of the mall and into its own building in September 2013.[13][14] The previous Walmart wing of the mall was demolished and replaced with parking and a new mall entrance.[13] In December 2013, mall owner Carlyle Development sold off the two southern out-parcel buildings, a Toys R Us and Dollar Tree/Price Rite, to Gator Investments, and announced that it was putting the Swansea Mall up for sale. In January 2014, the mall brought management in-house and ended its relationship with management company, Jones Lang LaSalle. Also in 2014, Kaplan Retail Consulting was hired to oversee the leasing of the mall's retail space.[15] A sale agreement was reached via online auction in November 2014,[16] but by January 2015 the plans had fallen through.[17]

On December 28, 2016, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of its plan to close 150 stores nationwide. The store closed in March 2017. The closure of Sears left the mall with Macy's as its only anchor.[18]

Closure
Swansea Mall, 2019

On June 29, 2018, the out-parcel Toys "R" Us was closed after the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed all US locations.[19] The space was rented as a Spirit Halloween for multiple years after the Toys "R" Us closed.[20] On January 9, 2019, it was announced that Macy's would be closing on March 31, 2019, as part of its plan to close 9 stores nationwide.[21] In January 2019, the Swansea Board of Selectmen discussed a proposal to take the mall property by eminent domain for redevelopment.[22] On January 31, 2019, Carlyle Partners, the mall's owner, announced that Swansea Mall would be closing by March 31, 2019.[23] On March 31, the mall ceased business and closed.[24]

In May 2019, Anagnost Companies, a real estate developer and management company, purchased the property at auction for $6.65 million with plans to turn it into a multifaceted facility.[25][26] The redevelopment proposal was met with opposition from Walmart which claimed that the mixed-use proposal violated previous easements, covenants, and restrictions (ECRs) that had been made with the former Swansea Mall landowners in 2013; Walmart indicated it would seek to preclude the redevelopment through litigation.[27] By late 2020, redevelopment work had stalled amid growing legal disputes between Anagnost and Walmart.

In May 2021, the developers estimated they would spend $200 million between redeveloping the mall and constructing apartments on the property. The town of Swansea indicated it would pursue litigation against Walmart to acquire the ECRs through eminent domain to allow the redevelopment of the mall to move forward.[28] For a time, town officials considered moving the town offices to the property, but announced in October 2021 that legal issues restricted the move.[29][30][31]

Property redevelopment
View of renovated southern wing entrance in 2023; the former Swansea Mall logo was kept intact

By late 2021 the property had two tenants; a self-storage facility had opened on the former Apex site and a Pentecostal Church congregation occupied the former Macy’s. During this time, the southern portion of the mall structure remained abandoned while the northern portion had been substantially gutted.

In summer 2022, Anagnost announced it had finalized negotiations with Walmart which would allow the redevelopment of the property to continue.[32] Anagnost revealed the property would be renamed the “Shoppes at Swansea” and would transform the former enclosed mall into an open-air mixed-use lifestyle center with 110,000 square feet of retail space along with two 72-unit housing complexes.[33] In fall 2022, the decrepit ring road that formerly encircled the mall structure was repaired and a fitness club moved into the renovated northern section.[34]

In early 2023, the Christian non-denominational church, called His Providence Church, opened a Christian school, called King's Academy, as an extension of their existing congregation; a manufacturing office for packaging supplies also opened in the northern section during this time. During this time, the lifestyle center component had been dropped in favor of a traditional outward-facing shopping plaza design with expanded parking; the property was renamed "Swansea Center" to reflect this change.[35] By summer 2023, most of the northern section had been rehabilitated; however, a majority of the property remains without tenants. In June 2023, the town of Swansea and MassDOT indicated plans to transform the existing Swansea Mall Drive portion of MA Route 118 (currently a multi-laned thoroughfare) into an urban boulevard.[36]

See also

References
  1. "Real Estate Mart". The Boston Globe. March 10, 1974. pp. A57. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  2. "Massachusetts". CSA Super Markets. 50: E40. 1974.
  3. "Price Rite closing Swansea store by Sept. 30". WPRI.com. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  4. "A labor issues produces violence in Swansea". Newspapers.com. 2 September 1974. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  5. "Sargent asked to halt violence". Newspapers.com. 29 August 1974. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  6. Directory of major malls, listing the most important existing and planned ... MJJTM Publications Corp. 1981. Retrieved 2012-08-16 – via Google Books.
  7. Medeiros, Dan. "Shop local as we remember 13 Fall River area stores we miss, from Anderson-Little to Zayre". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  8. O'Connor, Kevin P. "Owner of Swansea Toys R Us land says interest in site is booming". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  9. "Jordan Marsh To Take Macy's Name New England Chain Will Lose Its Identity After 145 Years". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  10. Roy, Linda. "Miss shopping at these New Bedford area stores? A look back at favorites that have closed". The Standard-Times. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  11. "Caldor sells more stores". The New York Times. 27 July 1999. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  12. "Apex to close Swansea and Warwick stores, consolidate". 23 January 2001. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  13. Allard, Deborah. "PROJECT TRACKER: Walmart center takes shape in Swansea". Wicked Local. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  14. News, NBC 10 (2013-09-11). "Walmart opens new store at Swansea Mall". WJAR. Retrieved 2022-01-20. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. Allard, Deborah. "Land housing Swansea WalMart sold for $10.6 million". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  16. "Swansea Mall sold for $6.65 million at auction". Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  17. "Swansea Mall sale falls through". Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  18. O'Connor, Kevin P. "Swansea Mall Sears scheduled for closure". The Herald News. Fall River, MA. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016.
  19. O'Connor, Kevin P. "Shoppers at Swansea Toys R Us greet news of store closures with sadness, recall fond childhood memories". The Herald News. Fall River, MA. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018.
  20. Winokoor, Charles. "Swansea Halloween pop-up racking up sales in former Toys "R" Us space". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  21. "Macy's at Swansea Mall to close after three decades". WPRI. 2019-01-09.
  22. CULLINANE, ASHLEY (2019-01-02). "Selectman lays out plan to redevelop Swansea Mall, find new owner". NBC 10 NEWS (WJAR).
  23. "Swansea Mall to close for good at the end of March". WPRI.com. 2019-01-31.
  24. "Swansea Mall closed its doors for good Sunday". WPRI.com. 2019-03-31.
  25. "Swansea Mall is sold to New Hampshire real estate developer". WWLP. 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  26. Allard, Deborah. "Swansea Mall sold for $6.65 million at auction". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  27. Winokoor, Charles. "Swansea Mall redevelopment project at a crossroads". Fall River Herald News. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  28. Santos, Melissa. "'One project makes the other project successful': What's going on at the Swansea Mall site". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  29. "Store owner killed, Swansea town offices not headed to mall: Top Fall River area stories". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  30. Cooney, Audrey. "Move town offices to the old Swansea Mall? Town meeting will vote on $5 million project". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  31. Wagner, Jeffrey D. "'It will create the anchor that we need': Swansea Mall developers want Town Hall, departments as occupants". The Herald News. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  32. "Walmart, Swansea Mall owners near agreement". cm.heraldnews.com. January 27, 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  33. Paiva, Ken (2022-08-01). "With negotiations finalized with Walmart, former Swansea Mall property ramping up improvements, including ring road". Fall River Reporter. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  34. Medeiros, Dan. "Smooth sailing from here on: Paving has finally started at former Swansea Mall ring road". Fall River Herald News. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  35. Richard, Barry (2023-08-21). "Former Swansea Mall Looks Different But Still Mostly Empty". 1420 WBSM. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  36. "How would you redesign Swansea Mall Drive? The town wants public input on the new plans". Fall River Herald News. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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