The departure of Sears from Northshore Mall in 2019 was the catalyst for an extensive repositioning of the Peabody property. Gametime Lanes & Entertainment, which includes 10-pin bowling and ax throwing in a sports bar atmosphere, is among the newly arrived entertainment concepts designed to capture foot traffic and boost sales. Photo by Steve Adams| Banker & Tradesman Staff
Simon Property Group wants to bring back the heyday of hanging out at the local mall, in a head-on assault to online shopping that’s reshaping the physical layout of its suburban properties in Massachusetts.
The changes include redevelopment of former Sears anchor spaces, plans for new Dick’s House of Sport superstores to replace Nordstrom stores, and development of apartment complexes and hotels on outlying sections of mall properties.
The changes appear to be paying off, with the Indianapolis-based REIT reporting some of its strongest financial results in nearly a decade.
At the Northshore Mall, a new restaurant row, gaming arcades and LifeTime Fitness Club replaced the former Sears anchor store. Mall General Manager Scott DeCost said expanding the 1.6 million-square-foot property’s dining segment is critical to drawing foot traffic.
“We understand the need to create a strong destination that really appeals to the evolving wants and needs of our shoppers. To successfully accomplish that, we had to include dynamic dining and the outdoor seating, so it becomes a community hub,” DeCost said during a recent tour of the property.
Over the past year, a new restaurant row with exterior entrances and outdoor seating rose on the former Sears anchor space which was demolished in 2019. New arrivals included LL Bean, fast-casual chains, and entertainment concepts such as indoor golf simulator Golf Lounge 18 and gaming center Immersive Gamebox.
More changes are waiting in the wings: Sandmagination, a children’s playscape concept, will open New England’s “largest indoor sandbox” at the Peabody property this month. Provo, Utah-based developer PEG Companies broke ground early this year on a 142-room Residence Inn, replacing parking areas. Following the scheduled closure of Nordstrom in January, a Dick’s House of Sport will open in 2026.
In-Person Attractions Drive Traffic
The changes are a necessary response to the competition from online shopping. E-commerce sales represented 16.4 percent of all transactions in the U.S. during the fourth quarter, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The shift to “shoppertainment” concepts is paying off for Simon Property Group, which owns 194 shopping center properties totaling over 170 million square feet in the U.S.
L.L. Bean is among the new arrivals in a wing of Northshore Mall replacing the former Sears anchor store. Photo courtesy of Elisif Photography
Occupancy at Simon malls and outlets rose to its highest level in eight years – at 96.5 percent – in 2024, company executives reported in February.
Bringing in new tenants is critical to driving rent growth, CEO David Simon said during a conference call to discuss the company’s fourth-quarter earnings. Approximately 25 percent of leases signed in 2024 were for new tenants, which helped the retail REIT achieve sales per square foot of $739.
“We are able to take the retailers that aren’t doing the sales and replace them with ones that will, and because they’ll do better volume, that drives rent growth,” CEO David Simon told analysts.
Former Nordstrom anchor stores at South Shore Plaza and Northshore Mall will be occupied next year with Dick’s House of Sport, the premium format of Dick’s Sporting Goods, which opened its first Massachusetts location last year at Boston’s Prudential Center.
Approximately 1,200 hotel rooms and housing units are scheduled to open at Simon-owned properties across the U.S. in 2025 and 2026, according to the company’s annual report.
Steve Adams
South Shore Plaza Apartment Plan Advances
More housing is planned for South Shore Plaza in Braintree, where developer Zom Living is on the verge of winning approval for a 325-unit apartment complex.
The firm ran into stiff opposition from neighborhood residents and former Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros when it first proposed nearly 500 apartments on a 10-acre section of the South Shore Plaza property in 2023. The Fort Lauderdale developer has agreed to buy the 10-acre property from Simon Property Group. The project, since reduced to 325 units, is undergoing a review by the Braintree Planning Board.
The key hurdle was approval of a new mixed-use zoning overlay last fall by the Braintree City Council.
Supporters of the $140 million project said the town needs the projected $500,000 in annual tax revenues to offset declines in the mall’s assessment since 2020, reflecting the vacancy of the former Lord & Taylor anchor. The former department store is owned by HBC Properties and Investments, which had planned a lab conversion but has not moved forward with the project.
Approximately 10 percent of Simon properties now have multifamily housing or plans for residential projects in the works, Director of Development Tim Fox told Braintree councilors before the board’s 8-1 vote last year. The evolution of mall properties will continue, he added, as developers respond to market forces and changing shopping and spending habits.
“Development at mature retail properties is an incremental process,” he said. “We certainly expect that will be the case here.”
