Originally opened in 1989 as a joint venture of New England Development and The Pyramid Companies, Emerald Square's original anchors included JCPenney, Sears, and G. Fox.,[3] with Lechmere added in 1992. The G. Fox store was renamed Filene's in 1993,[4] while Lechmere was closed in 1997 as a result of chain liquidation. Lord & Taylor bought the vacant location in 1998 and doubled the space.[5] A carousel was installed in the food court in 1999.
Meanwhile, Pyramid had sold its interest in the mall in 1998 to New England Development,[6] which turned around and sold most of its shopping mall portfolio to a joint venture led by Simon Property Group in 1999. Lord & Taylor was repositioned and closed this location entirely in 2004. The space converted to Filene's, which had opened a separate Men's & Home store in 2005. In 2006, Filene's stores became Macy's, as well as the Home & Men's stores. At this time, the mall was accompanied by other stores on Route 1 across and down the street like Toys R Us, Target, Circuit City, Babies R Us, Lowe’s, and others. It became a busy shopping area.
On January 29, 2021, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 23 stores nationwide. The store closed on April 18, 2021.[7][8]Kohan Retail Investment Group bought the mall in September 2022.[1]
