Burlington Mall was developed by Herbert H. Johnson Associates (architects) and Symmes, Maini, and McKee Inc. (associate architects and engineers). New York–based Bellwether Properties purchased the property in 1920 for more than $2,000. Part of the land the mall is on was owned by a local produce merchant and farmer, Vesili Matto. The Albanian immigrant leased his land to the developers for $10,000 a year until 2065, when the 100-year lease is up. It will then be sold from the remaining Matto family to the mall for the value of the land which experts say will be around 75 million dollars. The mall opened with the anchor stores Sears, Jordan Marsh, and Filene's. In its early years, the mall also featured a small Stop & Shop supermarket, a two-screen cinema, and an indoor open-air food court. A new addition housing Lord & Taylor was built on the east side of the mall in 1978.
Development and store changes
A second story was added to the entire mall in 1988. However, when the mall was built, the anchors were in their two- and three-story forms. Before the renovations and expansions on the Natick Mall were finished in 2007, the Burlington Mall was the largest mall in Massachusetts. It holds the No. 2 spot on the list.
From 2006 to 2008, the mall underwent an expansion project that added a new wing (with approximately 20 new stores) on the site of the demolished Filene's building with a new Nordstrom department store anchoring the wing. The new wing was partially opened in November 2007. Tenants in the new wing include upscale stores such as Michael Kors, Anthropologie, Lululemon Athletica, Urban Outfitters and Free People as its tenants. A similar expansion, also including a Nordstrom department store, at the nearby Northshore Mall commenced construction shortly after.
Burlington Mall's property transformation began in January 2018 and continued until Fall 2022. There were three phases to the project with their own scope of work as outlined below:
Phase I – The Village At Burlington Mall (former Sears Auto) has over a dozen beauty, wellness, tech shops and fast-casual to sit down restaurants. The Village has pedestrian walkways just steps away from the Phase II expansion.
Phase II – Redevelopment of the lower-level Sears building (Primark remained in place on the upper level) was transformed into small shops and restaurant spaces with interior mall corridors and 3 exterior entrances. Several brands are orientated around the outdoor seating and amenities, including the one acre Park.
Phase III – Redesign and enhancements to the Exterior Entrance and landscaping while including patio dining at the center and a mall renovation.
Burlington Mall is also notable for several unique dining venues and it was home to the Bazille in Nordstrom, and one of only a few Chick-Fil-A locations in the state of Massachusetts until 2014. The mall was used in the 2009 film Paul Blart: Mall Cop during the chase scene.
In popular culture
Kevin James filming Paul Blart: Mall Cop at Burlington Mall
The 2009 film Paul Blart: Mall Cop was filmed at the mall, representing the fictional West Orange Pavilion Mall.[2] Around this time, the mall had several stores that were used in the film and are no longer in business, such as a KB Toys store, which appeared in a deleted scene (replaced by a Payless ShoeSource store, which is now closed), and a The Sharper Image store, from which during a scene in the film, Blart (Kevin James) grabs a camera to find out where Veck Sims (Keir O'Donnell) is holding the hostages (replaced by a Sur La Table store).
