SWANSEA — The days of the old Swansea Mall parking lot wreaking havoc on car suspensions are coming to an end — repaving work has begun as developers rehab the property soon to be known as the Shoppes at Swansea.

In recent days, a fresh layer of smooth black tar has appeared at what was once the mall’s south entrance off Swansea Mall Drive, nearest to the former Toys R Us and the old Sears. Though the road remains blocked to traffic by jersey barriers, the stretch of new asphalt curves around the western side of the former mall.

“We anticipate having the repaving work completed by Thanksgiving," said James Tobin, director of commercial leasing for Brady Sullivan Properties of Manchester, New Hampshire, which is part of the Shoppes at Swansea’s ownership team.

The main entrance at Swansea Mall Drive, and the Cousineau Drive entrance leading to Walmart, have not yet been repaved as of Tuesday.

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Even before the mall’s closure in March 2019, its ring road had been in a state of disrepair, which deteriorated more severely as the property became unused and unmaintained. The road, often used by shoppers coming from Swansea Mall Drive to reach Walmart, was in such notoriously bad shape that it inspired a local artist to sell T-shirts with the slogan “I survived the mall lot potholes.”

The old mall building itself has begun to show more signs of renewed life. Along the western side near Walmart, Crunch Fitness has put up its signage and begun moving in with a fresh parking lot out front, not yet striped.

“The tenant roster currently includes Crunch Fitness, Prime Storage, His Providence Church, and Unified Global Packaging Co.,” Tobin said. "We are actively engaged with prospective tenants and continue to make headway with bringing exciting commercial and retail businesses to Swansea.”

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Former Swansea Mall ring road being repaved as redevelopment continues