The Swansea Crossings shopping plaza is across the street, and contains a Big Lots and a Tractor Supply Company.
Following the initial success of the North Dartmouth Mall, Arlen sought to expand to other underserved markets in the area.
[4] During construction of the mall, there were issues between union and non-union workers that led to multiple fights between the sides and several injuries.
On September 2, 1974, it was reported that over two-thousand unionized workers entered and vandalized the construction site to protest the ongoing project.
Swansea Mall originally opened in 1975 with two anchors: Sears and Edgar Department Stores.
By the 1990s, the movie theater was closed, original anchor Edgar's, then out-of-business, was replaced by Jordan Marsh, the hall space was altered with the removal of water fountains, the installation of new lighting, and new floor tiling, and the mall's logo was changed to its current design.
[21] In January 2019, the Swansea Board of Selectmen discussed a proposal to take the mall property by eminent domain for redevelopment.
[25][26] The redevelopment proposal was met with opposition from Walmart which claimed that the mixed-use proposal violated previous easements, covenants, and restrictions (ECRs) that had been made with the former Swansea Mall landowners in 2013; Walmart indicated it would seek to preclude the redevelopment through litigation.
[27] By late 2020, redevelopment work had stalled amid growing legal disputes between Anagnost and Walmart.
The town of Swansea indicated it would pursue litigation against Walmart to acquire the ECRs through eminent domain to allow the redevelopment of the mall to move forward.
[29][30][31] By late 2021 the property had two tenants; a self-storage facility had opened on the former Apex site and a Pentecostal church congregation occupied the former Macy’s.
[32] Anagnost revealed the property would be renamed the “Shoppes at Swansea” and would transform the former enclosed mall into an open-air mixed-use lifestyle center with 110,000 square feet of retail space along with two 72-unit housing complexes.
[33] In late 2022, the decrepit ring road that formerly encircled the mall structure was repaired and a fitness club moved into the renovated northern section.