Swansea Mall originally opened with two anchors: Sears and Edgar Department Stores. The mall had a 4-screen movie theater. A third and fourth anchor, national discount department storeCaldor and Rhode Island-based department storeApex, were added as part of a major expansion around 1980. Two out-parcels were located just south of the original mall, populated by Toys "R" Us and Service Merchandise. In 1989, the mall underwent a major interior renovation. Swansea 4 Cinemas was removed. Original anchor Edgar's, then out-of-business, was replaced by Jordan Marsh. The hall space was altered with the removal of water fountains, the installation of new lighting, and new floor tiling. The mall's logo was changed to its current design. In 1996, Jordan Marsh was sold to Macy's. Caldor suffered damage during a fire in 1997. It was closed for a year of renovation, but then closed permanently when the company went out of business in 1999. Several restaurants left the mall in the late '90s, such as the pizzeria Roman Delight and Newport Creamery. In 1995, the food court was opened. In 2001, a Walmart replaced the previous Caldor location after its purchase in 1999. Apex closed the same year. Walmart moved out of the mall and into its own building in September of 2013. The previous Walmart wing of the mall was then demolished. In December of 2013, mall owner Carlyle Development sold off the two southern out-parcel buildings, a Toys R Us and Dollar Tree, to Gator Investments, and announced that it was putting the Swansea Mall up for sale. In January of 2014, the mall cut ties with its management company, Jones Lang LaSalle, and announced that it would be bringing those functions in-house. Kaplan Retail Consulting was hired to oversee the leasing of the mall's large amount of empty retail space. A sale agreement was reached via online auction in November of 2014, but by January of 2015 the plans had fallen through. On December 28, 2016, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of its plan to close 150 stores nationwide. The store closed in March of 2017. The closure of Sears left the mall with Macy's as its only anchor. On June 29, 2018, the out-parcel Toys "R" Us was closed after the chain filed for bankruptcy and closed all US locations. On January 9, 2019, it was announced that Macy's would be closing on March 31, 2019 as part of its plan to close 9 stores nationwide. In January of 2019, the Swansea Board of Selectmen discussed a proposal to take the mall property by eminent domain for redevelopment. On January 31, 2019, Carlyle Partners, the mall's owner, announced that Swansea Mall would be closing by March 31, 2019. On March 31, the mall ceased business and closed.
