Natick Collection

The new expansion to the Natick Collection, taken two days after its grand opening.

The Natick Collection, formerly known as Natick Mall until February 2007, is a large shopping mall owned by General Growth Properties (GGP), located near Route 9, Route 30, and the Mass Pike (I-90) in Natick, Massachusetts, adjacent to Shoppers World.

History

The Natick Mall originally opened in 1965 with 25 stores as a one-story mall, anchored by Sears and Filene's. It was the first enclosed mall in the Boston metropolitan area. The mall remained in its original state until 1993 when it was torn down due to its small size and dilapidation. It was reopened in late 1994, rebuilt as a modern two-story mall with over 200 stores. The mall developers also renovated Filenes, rebuilt Sears, and added a new Lord & Taylor and Jordan Marsh.

Renovation and expansion

The mall underwent a second large scale renovation in late 2006. The mall rebranded its image, beginning by attempting to change its name to simply "Natick", but settling on "Natick Collection" after resistance from the town.^[1]

This expansion project includes the renovation of approximately 100 new stores and the addition of two new anchors, (Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus), making Natick Collection the twelfth largest in the country, fourth largest on the East Coast, and the largest in New England.^{[citation needed]} The project will also include adjacent luxury condominium residences. Most of the new stores are now open, with some still scheduled to open at a later date. These include:Abercrombie Kids, Bottega Veneta, Bvlgari, Calvin Klein, Chanel, The Cheesecake Factory, Club Monaco, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Lauren, Max Mara, Moonstruck Chocolate Café, O'Kaidi, P. F. Chang's China Bistro, Piazza Sempione, Thomas Pink, and Wok Kitchen. The entire renovation project was completed on September 7, 2007, though these stores will continue opening through December and early next year.

It was reported in the Boston Globe that as of 2007-09-07, 94% of the Collection was officially leased out.^{[citation needed]}

Anchors

• JCPenney (210,000 sq. ft.) (opened in former Macy's space, which was Jordan Marsh until 1996)
• Lord & Taylor (115,000 sq. ft.)
• Macy's (210,000 sq. ft.) (opened as Filene's, converted to Macy's 2006)
• Sears (190,000 sq. ft.)
• Neiman Marcus (100,000 sq. ft.)
• Nordstrom (144,000 sq. ft.)

See also

• Southdale Center - the first enclosed shopping mall in the country
• Shoppers World - located adjacent to the Natick Collection

References

External links

• Natick Collection official site
• A History of the Natick Collection
• Framingham/Natick Retail
• Labelscar on Natick Collection

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