Mall at Fox Run: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Defunct mall in New Hampshire, U.S.}}

{{short description| mall in New Hampshire, U.S.}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

Shopping mall in New Hampshire, U.S.

The Mall at Fox Run, formerly Fox Run Mall, was an enclosed shopping mall in Newington, New Hampshire, just north of Portsmouth. It has two anchor stores, Macy’s Men’s & Home Store (formerly Jordan Marsh) and Macy’s Women’s (formerly Filene’s), which are both scheduled to close by March 2026. It has two vacant anchors, formerly Sears and JCPenney. At 603,618 square feet (56,077.9 m²), it is New Hampshire’s fourth-largest mall, with 84 shops, all on one level. Completed in 1983, this mall functioned mainly as a successor to the smaller and dated Newington Mall, which has since been converted into a big box retail center. The mall officially permanently closed its doors on January, 31, 2026.

The mall is located just off U.S. Route 4 and the Spaulding Turnpike (NH Route 16). It is less than five minutes from Interstate 95. The mall is just 3 miles (5 km) from the Maine state border, and like the Pheasant Lane Mall and the Mall at Rockingham Park near the Massachusetts border, the Fox Run Mall draws a significant portion of its business from out-of-state customers (mostly from Maine) seeking to take advantage of New Hampshire’s tax-free retail climate.^{[citation needed]}

History

For many years, the Mall at Fox Run had four anchor department stores: Sears, J. C. Penney, Macy’s (formerly Jordan Marsh), and Filene’s. The Filene’s brand was discontinued following the Federated Department Stores and May Department Stores merger. Fox Run was one of a small number of malls where the former Filene’s (or Lord & Taylor) store was converted into a second Macy’s store. The other malls that have done this are the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis, Massachusetts, and the Northshore Mall in Peabody, Massachusetts.

In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at the Mall at Fox Run, into Seritage Growth Properties.^[3]

On October 15, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of its plan to close 142 stores nationwide.^[4] The space has been empty since 2019.

The mall was originally managed by JLL, and from 2011 through 2017 by Simon Property Group.^[1] From January 1, 2018 until August 3, 2023, the mall was leased and managed by Spinoso Real Estate Group.

Since then, it has been acquired by Massachusetts-based property management group Torrington Properties for $17.5 million dollars.^[5] In addition to the mall, Torrington also owns the adjacent Newington Park Shopping Center, which they took ownership of in 2021.^[6] It was announced in February 2025 that JCPenney would be closing on May 25, 2025, leaving the two Macy’s stores as the last anchors.^[7] That same year, Torrington announced that the mall will be demolished in 2026 to be redeveloped into a new commercial space called Seacoast Landing.^[8] Torrington has said that the plans for this redevelopment should cost around $500 million.^[8]

On January 8, 2026, Macy’s announced that it would be closing as part of a plan to close 14 stores by the end of Q1 2026. This will leave the mall with no anchors, cementing its status as a dead mall.^[9] The mall itself closed its doors on January 31, 2026, and the mall’s official website still works, but it now states “Mall at Fox Run CLOSED” at the top.^[10]

Architecture and layout

The Mall at Fox Run opened in 1983 and was an 82-acre property that followed the standard architectural look of the time.^[11] Some of its main architectural features included open floor layouts, a single-story design and a strategic placement of anchor stores at each end to draw customers attention. These original anchor stores were Lord & Taylor, J. C. Penney and Sears. The interior also included numerous skylights all along the main walkway. This 1983-style design, popular in many malls of the era, intended to provide a feeling of light and openness for shoppers. The mall includes lots of wide indoor hallways that create a generous amount of space for shoppers. About three years ago, the mall undergone some changes, the children’s play area was moved into the center court. This emphasized its role of that area as a gathering space along with an area to help guide shoppers through the mall. ^[12]

Food court

The food and dining sections were located in the center of the mall. The food court consisted of occupants such as Orange Julius, Roman Delight Pizza, Sarku Japan, the Pink Hippo Cafe and One Love cuisine. As of January 2026, Sarku Japan and Roman Delight Pizza remain the two sole restaurants operating until the mall’s closure.^[13]

Demolition and redevelopment

A report from October 2025 from the Portsmouth Herald reported that the demolition of the 600,000 square foot Fox Run Mall is set to begin in early to mid 2026. ^[14] They also stated that the demolition will take around 3-6 months to complete. This will depend on the permitting and construction schedule of the demolition. As a result, the new development of Seacoast Landing is expected to start around the second half of 2026.

A September 2025 article in Business NH Magazine reported that small business owners inside the Mall at Fox Run were getting ready for the mall shut down, with their leases expiring in January 2026. The article looked into several small businesses within the mall including Fox Run Dance Hall and Studio, Sweet Josie’s Candy Shoppe, One Love Cuisine, Cottage Chic, Mugshots, and Pet Wants. Some of these businesses plan to relocate in places nearby like the Kittery Maine Outlet centers, or switch to fully online business models. Store owners noted how recent change in shopping like the rise online stores contributed to the decline of the malls success rate in recent time.^[15]

External links

References