Square One Mall
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2012) |
 Inside Square One Mall | |
 | |
| Location | Saugus, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°27′39″N 71°01′38″W / 42.4608°N 71.0273°W |
| Opening date | August 17, 1994 |
| Developer | New England Development Corporation |
| Owner | Simon Property Group (49.1%) |
| No. of stores and services | 115 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,000,000 sq.ft. |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | Lighted Lot Parking Garage |
| Website | www.square-one-mall.com |
Square One Mall (formerly the New England Shopping Center) is a 115 store shopping mall located along US Route 1 (Broadway) between Main Street and Essex Street in Saugus, Massachusetts.[1]
The mall was a $100 million project undertaken by New England Development Corporation to redevelop the former New England Shopping Center which consisted of Sears, Service Merchandise and the former General Cinemas which had closed in the mid-1980s.[2][3] The construction of the mall was unique since it incorporated the previously built structure of Sears, signs of this being the difference in building materials between Sears and the rest of the mall. The mall opened for business in Summer August 17, 1994.[2][4]
The mall is credited with bringing sprawl and strip development to Saugus, especially along the Route 1 corridor. Route 1 through the area is a 6 lane highway (3 lanes in each direction) with a speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h).
Filene's Basement, one of the malls 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 in 2007.[5] All Filene's Basement stores closed in December 2011. A model of the planet Uranus is located in the food court, as part of the Boston Museum of Science's scale solar system model.
Anchor stores
The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Sears, TJ Maxx, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, and BD's Furniture. TJ Maxx was originally in a space built for Lechmere,[6] but has since moved to a space formerly occupied by Filene's Basement.
Bus connections
Along with a large parking lot, the MBTA services the Square One Mall with the following MBTA bus routes:
- 429 Northgate Shopping Center - Lynn Commuter Rail Station via Jefferson Ave & Square One Mall
- 430 Saugus Center - Malden Station via Square One Mall
The 131 has been proposed to be extended from its current route between Malden and Melrose to the Square One Mall. As of now Melrose residents can only access the mall by car or by taking a bus in the opposite direction to Malden Station and then transferring to the 430.
References
- ^ "Square One Mall Information". Simon Property Group. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Drumroll begins for a big mall..." The Boston Globe. 1994-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "General Cinemas - Saugus, MA". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Outlet Gambit Worcester Gets New Retailing Lure". The Boston Globe. 1994-10-04. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Boston Herald, May 5, 2009 | N.Y. firm to nab 17 Filene’s Basement stores for $22M
- ^ http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/08/22/mall_pitches_sporting_goods_store?pg=full