The Maine Mall
The Maine Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in South Portland, Maine. It is the largest shopping mall in the state of Maine, and the second largest in northern New England, only behind The Mall at Rockingham Park.
Location | South Portland, Maine |
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Coordinates | (43.634213, -70.336788) |
Address | 364 Maine Mall Road, South Portland, ME 04106 |
Opening date | 1971 |
Management | Brookfield Properties |
Owner | Brookfield Properties |
No. of stores and services | 120 |
No. of anchor tenants | 7 |
Total retail floor area | 1,009,044 square feet (93,743.3 m2) |
No. of floors | 1 with partial upper level (2 in Jordan's Furniture and Macy's) |
Website | www |
[1] |
Anchor stores are Best Buy, Forever 21, JCPenney, Jordan's Furniture, Macy's, Round One Entertainment, and Sears. [1]
History
In 1969, Jordan Marsh opened a freestanding store, which was the first Jordan Marsh in the state of Maine.[2]
In 1971, the indoor shopping mall and Sears were added.
Porteous, a department store chain based in Portland, Maine opened in 1983 as part of a major mall expansion which doubled the size of the mall. This expansion also added JCPenney as well as the first Filene's in the state of Maine.[3]
In 1994 the mall underwent a $6.5 million renovation that added a food court as well as Lechmere and a larger Dream Machine, a video game and pinball machine arcade.
Porteous closed in 1996 and was replaced with a two-level structure, containing a Filene's Home Store on the lower level with Sports Authority on the upper level, made accessible by the only mall escalators in Maine, excluding department stores. Jordan Marsh was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1996; as a result, the former Jordan Marsh at Maine Mall became Macy's.
In 1997, F. W. Woolworth Company and Lechmere both closed; within a year, they were replaced by Linens 'n Things and Best Buy, respectively.
In 2003, General Growth Properties acquired the mall for $270 million.
In 2005, Federated Department Stores acquired the Filene's chain. Due to the presence of an existing Macy's at the Maine Mall, both the Filene's and Filene's home store were shuttered in 2006 to prevent overlap.
In late 2008, Forever 21 and H&M opened in the former Filene's Mens & Home first floor. Sports Authority remained in the former Filene's upper floor.
In 2009, Linens 'n Things closed due to the liquidation of the chain.
In 2013, The Bon-Ton announced plans to open a store in the former Filene's space, which had been vacant since 2006.[4] This was Bon-Ton's only store in Maine and joined Sears, Macy's, and JCPenney to become the mall's fourth full-line department store when it opened on September 12, 2013.
In August 2016, Sports Authority closed due to bankruptcy.[5]
On June 13, 2017, it was announced that Bon-Ton would be closing its store in August 2017.[6][7]
On December 6, 2017, it was announced that Round One Entertainment will be opening in the former Sports Authority space in 2018.[8]
On May 28, 2019, Jordan's Furniture announced that it would be opening in the former Filene's/Bon-Ton space in on July 17, 2020.[9]
On June 26, 2020, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 28 stores nationwide. The store will close in September 2020.[10]
References
- "The Maine Mall". Brookfield Properties Retail Group.
- "Flashback: aerial views of the Maine Mall, in 1969 and in 2015". Portland Press Herald. November 30, 2015.
- McManus, Greg (September 1998). "The Two Maines: SEPARATE but not EQUAL". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-06-23.
- HALL, JESSICA (December 12, 2012). "Bon-Ton store to fill Filene's footprint in Maine Mall". Portland Press Herald.
- Joey (May 2, 2016). "SPORTS AUTHORITY GOES COMPLETELY BANKRUPT, WILL CLOSE MAINE MALL STORE". WCYY.
- ANDERSON, J. CRAIG (June 13, 2017). "Bon-Ton department store at Maine Mall will close in August". Portland Press Herald.
- "Maine Mall department store to close, offers severance to 55 employees". Bangor Daily News. June 13, 2017.
- PARSONS, JEFF (December 6, 2017). "A NEW BOWLING AND AMUSEMENT CENTER IS COMING TO THE MAINE MALL". WJBQ.
- Graham, Gillian (2019-05-28). "Jordan's Furniture to take former Filene's space at Maine Mall". Press Herald. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
- https://www.pressherald.com/2020/07/24/sears-is-closing-at-the-maine-mall/