Before the development, the area used to be known as Fort San Antonio Abad in Malate, Manila, Harrison Park, and Ermita Cemetery, respectively.

The Martel family leased the lot where the mall is standing under a contract with the city government of Manila.

[7] When it was reopened to the public in 1984, the mall featured a cinema, amusement rides, a jai alai fronton site (until it was converted to SM Hypermarket in 2010), a fountain, a Catholic chapel, and a hotel in the 1990s.

[9] In June 2016, it was reported that SM Prime Holdings was planning to invest ₱39.44 billion to redevelop the mall and put up business process outsourcing offices and residential towers in the Harrison Plaza complex.

[10] In April 2018, SM Prime Holdings finalized a deal to buy out the Martel family from its contract with the City of Manila to redevelop and manage Harrison Plaza.