It was plagued from the start of development: construction was stalled in 1972 due to the Boeing bust, and it suffered further misfortune with one anchor store closing before the rest of the mall could open.

In 2004, the mall underwent a massive expansion and renovation that included the addition of a 16-screen movie theater and outdoor stores along the south side.

The mall's anchor tenants include Regal Cinemas, Burlington, Best Buy, PetSmart, TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Floor & Decor, Ulta Beauty, Party City, and Trader Joe's.

[1] Steve & Barry's in turn was closed in 2009 after its owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was replaced by Burlington Coat Factory in 2013.

[11] Things began to fall apart for the developers when, in 1974, White Front declared bankruptcy and shuttered its large store at the mall, the last one in the state to close.

[12] In August 1977, construction began on the second triplex theater at the mall just west of Sears, to be operated but not owned by General Cinema.

[21] During the fall of 2000, the Everett Mall was placed into receivership by the Snohomish County Superior Court after finding that its owners, Titanic Associates of Morristown, New Jersey had defaulted on a loan.

This time with over 227,068 square feet (21,095.3 m2) of new retail space including a new "power center", the Everett Mall Village, and major exterior renovations planned.

[25] In June 2004, Equitable sold Everett Mall for $50.2 million to Steadfast Commercial Properties of Newport Beach, California, who proceeded to replace Madison Marquette with their own management company to carry out the expansion.

[26] The expansion project known as Everett Village broke ground in November 2004 with Best Buy, PetSmart, Old Navy, Borders Books and Bed Bath & Beyond announced as future tenants.

[27] Borders and Old Navy would occupy spaces within the mall's north wings rather than at the Village, with the former replacing a local restaurant in the process.

[42] In late 2006, Mervyn's announced that it would shutter all of its Oregon and Washington locations; it later declared bankruptcy and underwent liquidation in 2008 during the Great Recession.

[49] Steadfast avoided foreclosure on the mall, having Canyon Partners, a Los Angeles–based investment group, join ownership over it the following year.

[31][50] The Canyon Partners investment allowed the mall to attract Burlington Coat Factory as well as Party City and Ulta Beauty.

[52][53] In October 2017, Brixton Capital, an affiliate of Brutten Global, purchased the property for an undisclosed price from Steadfast Companies and Canyon Partners, with JLL taking over the mall's management and leasing; the sale did not include the then-former Macy's space nor the Village.

[58] A major redevelopment of the original mall was announced by Brixton Capital in August 2022, proposing demolition of the central portion and food court.

[60] In November 2023, Trader Joe's filed an application with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board for a liquor license, indicating that it would move into the Sears space as well; its then-current location two blocks away was notorious among locals for its chronic limited parking availability during rush hour, with the mall location offering more parking space to alleviate the issue.

[65][66] However, the mall received another major blow in December when national media reported that Party City, which had filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, would close all of its stores on February 1, 2025.

[67] During demolition of an exterior wall of the mall on January 16, 2025, a mobile crane collapsed onto the roof and injured two construction workers.