[1] Mashpee Commons occupies the former site of the New Seabury Shopping Center; the original strip mall was constructed in 1960 and initially consisted of 62,000 square feet (5,800 m2) of retail floor area.

By the early 1980s the Field Point Corporation, owners of the New Seabury Shopping Center, sought to convert the site into a mixed-used district.

Field Point contracted Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the planners of Seaside, Florida, and the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, to design the conversion.

New urbanist elements such as rear parking, street-facing structures, and pedestrianized areas are present in Mashpee Commons.

Mashpee Commons is classified as a lifestyle center and contains a limited amount of multifunctional development, with most of the off-street parking being relegated to a large surface lot that encircles the main retail area similar to a traditional shopping mall.