Aldi is preparing to open a new grocery store inside the Swansea Mall complex, taking over the long-vacant space once occupied by Price Rite at 58 Swansea Mall Drive. The discount grocery chain has not announced an official opening date, but the project has already cleared a key local hurdle: a building permit.
As reported by WJAR, Aldi is preparing to move into the Swansea Mall complex, with the opening date still unclear. The Swansea Building Department confirmed the project and said a permit had been issued, according to the Herald News. The Herald News reports that it is not yet known when the company will officially make the move.
The building has sat empty since Price Rite closed permanently there in September 2020, the Herald News notes. Aldi's new location would fill that gap at 58-66 Swansea Mall Drive, part of what's being called the Swansea Mall Center redevelopment, according to the Fall River Reporter.
Conflicting Timelines for the Grand Opening
Exactly when shoppers can expect to walk through Aldi's doors in Swansea remains murky, and local reporting hasn't settled on a single timeline. One Fall River Reporter update states that current plans call for Aldi, along with PetSmart and Five Below, to be operational by the first quarter of 2027. A separate update from the same outlet says the Swansea location could be ready as early as fall 2026, even while reiterating the first-quarter-2027 target.
The uncertainty tracks with where the broader redevelopment stands. The first phase of the project includes installing a new sewer connection and reconstructing the entire parking lot to address a stormwater issue, the Fall River Reporter reports, and the overall redevelopment is planned to unfold across three phases.
A Shopping Center Taking Shape Piece by Piece
Aldi won't be the first new name to light up at Swansea Mall Center. Five Below opened there on August 28, and Burlington announced an October 2 opening date, per the Fall River Reporter's reporting. The same outlet notes that later stages of the development include plans for two restaurants, one with roughly 110 seats and another with about 60 seats.
For now, Aldi appears to be staffing up ahead of its debut. The company's careers site lists a Part-Time Store Cashier/Stocker position tied to a new store at 58 Swansea Mall Dr, Swansea, MA, 02777, according to careers.aldi.us.
Filling a Gap in Aldi's Massachusetts Footprint
The Swansea store would give Aldi a fourth nearby Massachusetts location alongside its existing stores in Fall River, Dartmouth, and Raynham, the Fall River Reporter notes. Aldi's Fall River store, at 485 William S. Canning Boulevard, has been open since July 2019, according to the Herald News.
The Swansea project fits into a much larger expansion push for the discount grocer. Aldi aims to open more than 180 new stores across 31 states in 2026, pushing its U.S. footprint to nearly 2,800 locations, according to Grocery Dive. The chain is targeting 3,200 total locations by the end of 2028, and this year's growth includes a first-ever Maine store in Portland that would mark Aldi's 40th state, Grocery Dive reports. Aldi is also converting roughly 80 former Southeastern Grocers storefronts to its format in 2026, with more than 200 conversions planned by the end of 2027, per the same report.
Back in Swansea, though, residents will simply have to keep watching the old Price Rite building for signs of life. No Aldi spokesperson has detailed a firm move-in date, and until the company says otherwise, the grocer's arrival remains one of the final pieces to fall into place at the reshaped Swansea Mall Center.
