The Maine Mall

The Maine Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in South Portland, Maine, United States. Owned and managed by Brookfield Properties, it is the largest shopping mall in the state of Maine, and the second-largest in northern New England, behind New Hampshire's the Mall at Rockingham Park.

Its anchor stores are Best Buy, JCPenney, Jordan's Furniture, Macy's, and Round One Entertainment, with two vacant anchors last occupied by Forever 21 and Sears.

History
In 1969, Jordan Marsh opened a freestanding store which was the first Jordan Marsh in the state of Maine.

In 1971, the indoor shopping mall and Sears were added. The indoor shopping mall included Zales Jewelers, The Plum Tree, Spencer Gifts, F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10, Vogel’s/Lynn’s Hallmark Shop, Ward Bros., Boston Shoe Store, Fanny Farmer Candies, Lerner Shops, Kennedy’s, Deering Ice Cream, Record Town, Chess King, Hanover Shoes, RadioShack, Thom McAn Shoes, Boston Shoe Store, and Waldenbooks, which all opened on August 16, 1971. A Gold Star IGA Supermarket opened at the back end on September 15, 1971, and the Sears opened October 11, 1971.

Porteous, a department store chain based in Portland, Maine, opened in 1983 as part of a major mall expansion which doubled the size of the mall. This expansion also added JCPenney as well as the state's first Filene's. Besides the JCPenney, Filene’s, and Porteous, indoor tenants that opened on the same day at the same time within the extension were American Eagle, Gap, Orange Julius, Rave, Record Town, Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Kay Bee Toy and Hobby. At the same time, CVS relocated to the Macy’s wing in the former Kennedy’s, and Waldenbooks downsized, getting ready for two more stores to open later.

In 1994, the mall underwent a $6.5 million renovation that added a food court as well as Lechmere and a larger Dream Machine, a video game and pinball machine arcade. As a result, some more stores opened in the mall the same year, such as Learningsmith, the Disney Store, Thatcher’s Restaurant, Payless Shoesource, Old Country Buffet, The Limited, Limited Too, Gap Kids, the Children’s Place, Lids hats, the Body Shop, Gymboree, Express, Bath & Body Works and the Warner Bros. Studio Store.

Porteous closed on December 31, 1994, and was replaced with a two-level structure containing a Filene's Home Store on the lower level on October 30, 1996, and Sports Authority on the upper level in June 1997, made accessible by the only mall escalators in Maine, excluding department stores. Borders Books and Music was built next to Jordan Marsh and held its grand opening on November 17, 1995. Jordan Marsh was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1996; as a result, the mall's Jordan Marsh became Macy's. Meanwhile, that same year, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles opened. A Weathervane Seafood Restaurant was built in the same year.

In July 1997, F. W. Woolworth Company closed; on July 2, 1999 it was replaced by Linens 'n Things and American Eagle Outfitters, and Lechmere closed in November 1997 and was replaced by Best Buy on October 30, 1998, and David’s Bridal on March 28, 1999, respectively. When Linens 'n Things and American Eagle opened in former Woolworth, Kay Bee Toy and Hobby relocated in between the two on the same day, and changed the name to KB Toys.

In 2000, Learningsmith closed due to bankruptcy, and later a Discovery Channel Store opened in there.

In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch opened, along with Express relocating across the hall in the Macy’s wing, followed by PotteryBarn and Ruby Tuesday opening in the former Express space.

In 2003, General Growth Properties acquired the mall for $270 million.

In 2004, Ann Taylor Loft, AT&T, and Build a Bear Workshop opened, which led to Itz a Puzzle relocating from the old spot, which Build a Bear took over, and open in the old Hammett’s Learning World space next to AT&T and Spencer Gifts.

Around 2005, Go! Toys and Games moved into the old Lane Bryant near Macy’s, and then Lane Bryant relocated next to Gap, which made Victoria’s Secret relocate next to the Hallmark Shop in the Macy’s wing.

In 2005, Federated Department Stores acquired the Filene's chain. Due to the presence of an existing Macy's at the mall, both the Filene's and Filene's home store were shuttered in 2006 to prevent overlap.

In July 2006, The Ginger Pad and a BC Sports collectibles store opened in the former Dream Machine arcade.

In Autumn 2006, Caché opened, and at the same time, Au Bon Pain and Orange Julius closed.

In spring 2007, Lands’ End inside of Sears and The Walking Company opened.

In June 2007, New York and Company closed, along with the Go! Toys and Games next to it, but when Banana Republic took over the New York and Company space on October 28, 2007, the Go! Toys store reopened there the same day too.

In September 2007, Spencer Gifts and T&C Nails closed their old locations and relocated next to FYE after it completed downsizing on October 29, 2007.

On December 29, 2007, KB Toys closed and American Eagle upsized, filling the KB Toys space.

In February 2008, the Disney Store closed, and Delia’s would open there in 2009.

In May 2008, The Finish Line and Waldenbooks closed, and Wilson’s Leather closed in late August 2008, and a Coldwater Creek moved into the former Wilson’s and Finish Line.

The state's only Apple Store opened at the mall in September 2008. In October 2019, it moved into a more central location in the building, occupying a space left by Abercrombie & Fitch's departure. In October 2008, BC Sports Collectibles closed.

In fall 2008, Forever 21 and H&M opened in the former Filene's Mens & Home first floor. Sports Authority remained in the former Filene's upper floor.

On December 28, 2008, Linens 'n Things closed due to the liquidation of the chain.

In January 2009, Itz a Puzzle and JB Robinsons Jewelers closed, and Go! Toys and Games and Kay Jewelers relocated to those vacant tenants. In 2013, Aéropostale would leave its old location and open in the old Kay Jewelers space, and after Go! Toys and Games relocated, Gymboree relocated to that space. In February 2009, The Ginger Pad and Cinnabon closed.

Also in 2009, the mall's owner, General Growth Properties, filed for bankruptcy. It split itself into two companies the following year, the new one being Brookfield Properties.

On December 12, 2012, The Bon-Ton announced plans to open a store in the former Filene's space, which had been vacant since 2006. The store opened on September 12, 2013. This was Bon-Ton's only store in Maine and joined Sears, Macy's, and JCPenney to become the mall's fourth full-line department store.

In August 2016, Sports Authority closed due to bankruptcy.

On June 13, 2017, it was announced that Bon-Ton would be closing its store in August 2017.

On December 6, 2017, it was announced that Round One Entertainment will be opening in the former Sports Authority space in 2018.

On May 28, 2019, Jordan's Furniture announced that it would be opening in the former Filene's/Bon-Ton space; the store opened in 2020, and features a ropes course before the main entrance from the mall.

On June 26, 2020, it was announced that Sears would be closing 28 stores nationwide, including the store in The Maine Mall. The Sears store subsequently closed on September 13, 2020. Forever 21 also closed in 2020.

Olympia Sports closed in 2022, after the company liquidated. It was replaced by Team Spirit.

In September 2023, the first Maine location of Miniso opened at the mall.

BoxLunch, a sister store to Hot Topic, opened in November 2023.

Starbucks closed its mall store in January 2024. It follows closures of Portland's Starbucks stores on Congress Street and Middle Street.

Future
In November 2020, a proposed plan that hoped to transform a surplus of empty parking spaces at the Maine Mall into land for housing and recreation was detailed in the Portland Press Herald.

The Maine Mall Transit Oriented District Concept Plan was started by the Greater Portland Council of Governments and funded by a $20,000 federal grant. To make the mall more sustainable and attractive, the plan aims to accomplish three things: to reduce urban sprawl, reduce traffic congestion, and increase public transportation in the area around the mall.

The redevelopment plans for the Maine Mall hope to build on similar projects in the Greater Portland area, such as Rock Row in Westbrook. City organizers are hoping to take advantage of recent zoning changes that allows for housing development near the mall.

Transit-oriented development is at the center of such plans. The city already has five different bus routes that makes routine stops at the mall. The goal is to incentivize people to walk or use public transportation in the future.

The mall would still be the main attraction but will feature a more community-centered shopping experience. Through infill development, people will be able to live, work, go to the doctors, and have recreational activities all within proximity of the mall. The hope is that this will make people want to go to the mall.

In the proposed plan, the parking lots at the Maine Mall will be replaced with parking garages that have green spaces on their rooftop. A hotel, convention center, parks, and a baseball field are also a part of the plan.

Transportation
Several local buses serve the mall: Greater Portland Metro routes 3 and 5; South Portland Bus Service routes 24A and 24B; and the number 60 of Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit's Green line. Each service stops at JCPenney, but the 24A and 24B make an additional stop at Macy's.

In 2024, Greater Portland Metro created a direct route (still route 5) to the mall, running alongside its existing routes there.

Litigation
In 2023, Mission Working Dogs of Oxford sued the mall, claiming its dog handlers were detained and asked to leave the mall during a visit the previous year. Ten employees of Mission walked around the mall with eight dogs, but were asked to leave by a mall security guard, who claimed they were trespassing. Under the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA) and state law covering discrimination, "Service animals are allowed to accompany their handlers in all places of public accommodation and may only be removed from a public space if they are out of control or not housebroken."