Nordstrom Rack swung open the doors on a brand-new 27,000-square-foot store at Colony Place in Plymouth this past Thursday, giving South Shore shoppers another spot to hunt for discounted designer labels. The store sits at 242 Colony Place, tucked between ALDI and La-Z-Boy, inside a shopping center that already counts Dick's Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty and TJ Maxx among its more than 50 tenants.
A Fast Build for Labor Day Weekend
The opening capped a ground-up construction push that a project team including representatives from DLC, Renovo Construction and NWS Architects raced to finish in time for the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to GeneOnline. The development team finalized the building within its established project timeline and budget, and construction crews and architects collaborated on designing and executing the store space so it would be ready for its scheduled opening. Renovo Construction, which built the store, was among the project participants.
That kind of speed is notable in a commercial real estate climate where ground-up retail development has slowed considerably due to high interest rates and construction costs. The project team, including DLC, Renovo and NWS Architects, worked on the 27,000-square-foot build.
Deals, Pickup and Alterations Under One Roof
Shoppers walking in will find brand markdowns of up to 70%, along with a slate of services meant to tie the physical store to Nordstrom's online business. The Plymouth location offers online order pickup for both Nordstrom.com and NordstromRack.com purchases, along with returns processing and on-site alterations, according to a company announcement carried by Commercial Search. Those omnichannel features reflect Nordstrom's broader strategy of linking digital orders with in-person service at its physical stores.
The grand opening festivities themselves started early. Doors officially opened at 9 a.m. this past Thursday, but organizers held promotional gift card drawings starting at 7 a.m., with prizes worth up to $1,000 up for grabs before regular store hours began.
Colony Place's Recent Ownership Turnover
The new store arrives less than a year and a half after Colony Place itself changed hands. Real estate investment firm DLC acquired the 400,000-square-foot shopping center in an off-market transaction in May 2024 for $86 million, marking the company's entry into the Boston metropolitan retail market, per Connect CRE. DLC bought the property from The Rainier Companies in partnership with Principal Asset Management. Rainier had acquired the center's primary retail components back in February 2020 for $83 million, improving tenant occupancy over four years before selling to DLC.
Colony Place sits at the intersection of Routes 3 and 44, a location the outlet describes as positioning the center midway between Boston and Cape Cod. The center includes both power-center and lifestyle retail formats.
Part of a Bigger Statewide Push
Before the Plymouth store opened, Nordstrom already had a Massachusetts store presence. Nordstrom Rack has also been expanding its footprint.
The Plymouth store is not the only new Rack location headed to the South Shore this fall. Nordstrom Rack is scheduled to open another off-price store at Mansfield Crossing in Mansfield on October 29, part of a wider push that has the company opening 20 stores across 15 states between August and November. Hoodline previously reported on that expansion as part of the chain's national off-price strategy.
Before construction could begin at Colony Place, the project needed municipal sign-off in Plymouth, including a zoning modification review submitted to the Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals in early 2025. The project also received reviews from local engineering, fire and health officials before ground was broken.
