South Shore Plaza

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]

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	42.22044°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]

Development

Establishment and early expansions

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

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

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

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

On August 27, 2020, Lord & Taylor announced the closure of all of its stores, as a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

Nordstrom closed on March 8, 2025. Dick's House of Sport is set to open in the former Nordstrom space by 2026.^[9]

List of anchor stores

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

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

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