Auburn Mall (Massachusetts)

Auburn Mall

Inside the Auburn Mall
Location	385 Southbridge St., Auburn, Massachusetts, United States
Opening date	1971
Developer	JMB Realty, The Pyramid Companies
Management	Simon Property Group
Owner	Simon Property Group
Stores and services	59 [1]
Anchor tenants	3 (2 open, 1 vacant)
Floor area	583,739 square feet (54,231.1 m2) [1]
Floors	1 (2 in anchors)
Website	simon.com/mall/auburn-mall

The Auburn Mall, managed by Simon Property Group its an enclosed shopping mall located on Route 12 in Auburn, Massachusetts, United States, near the intersection of the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90) and I-290/I-395.

The mall is anchored by Macy's, a Reliant Medical Group center, and has a vacant anchor spot last occupied by Sears. ^{[2] [3]}

History

The mall was originally built in 1971 it was Denholms from 1971 thru January 1973 when the company went bankrupt but in 1974 Forbes and Wallace took over the building and then it went close down in 1976 because the company of that also went bankrupt and they had the Sears building built in 1971 and featured Sears as anchors. ^[4] Denholm's was converted to Forbes & Wallace, and later to The Outlet, a Providence, Rhode Island–based department store chain. The Outlet store opened at the mall in 1976 after Forbes and Wallace went bankrupt so the Outlet store took over the building but it closed in 1982 and was replaced with Caldor.

The mall underwent a significant renovation in 1997 which added Filene's as a third anchor. ^[5] and the renovations included 2 multi level Parking Garages and interior modernization like Updated flooring lighting and ceilings and redesigned entrances for better flow and Exterior updates and Updated restrooms and seating areas and better signage and a Updated Food Court and Caldor closed in 1999 and was converted to a Filene's home store. ^[5] In 2006, the two Filene's stores in the mall were both converted to Macy's. But the Macy's Home Store closed down in 2015.

Decline, Closure

In October 2015, the mall unveiled plans to add a 10-screen cinema and restaurant in the space occupied by Macy's Home Store which closed on December 1, 2015. ^[6] By April 2016, those plans were approved. ^[7] However, in November 2016, the mall abandoned previous plans and proposed a new medical center for the Macy's Home Store space. ^[8] On June 16, 2017, the mall announced that Reliant Medical Group signed a 20-year lease and opened in the space formerly occupied by Macy's Home Store on February 18, 2019. ^[9]

On November 7, 2019, it was announced that Sears would be closing on February 16, 2020, as part of a plan to close 96 stores nationwide which left Macy's as the only anchor left. ^[10] In March 20 2020 since the mall has been dying for years.

References

1. Auburn Mall. mallsandstores.info. Retrieved: 22 February 2015
2. "Auburn Mall: A Simon Mall" (PDF). May 15, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
3. "Reliant Medical To Open At Auburn Mall". Worcester, MA Patch. June 16, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
4. "Auburn Mall, Massachusetts (Auburn) | hours, store directory". www.mallsandstores.info. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
5. "Auburn Mall; Auburn Massachusetts". Labelscar. September 18, 2006. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
6. "Auburn Mall to add theater and restaurant". Worcester Business Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
7. "Auburn Mall to get movie theater, restaurant in 2017". Worcester Business Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
8. Semon, Craig S. "New Auburn Mall plans substitute medical center for movie theater". telegram.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
9. "Reliant Medical To Open At Auburn Mall". Worcester, MA Patch. June 16, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
10. Ciment, Shoshy. "Sears is closing 96 more stores, leaving only 182 stores left in the US. Here's the full list of the ones closing". Business Insider.

42°12′08″N71°50′07″W / 42.2023°N 71.8354°W / 42.2023; -71.8354