The plaza opened in 1974 with Rich's department stores, A&P supermarket and a block of smaller stores with a short enclosed mall section. The center was also called the JFK Mall. A&P was the supermarket anchor at the plaza until in the mid 1990's when a Shop'n save replaced it. Shop'n save used to be located at The Concourse with Ames. Rich’s was entirely renovated in the early 90’s with a brand new exterior, part of the new design of the Rich’s chain. On October 5 1996, Rich's announced the closing of the store. The liquidation sale began on October 25th and the store was finally closed on December 24, 1996.

L.L.Bean opened a call center in the former Rich's space. The Shop'n Save supermarket was eventually renamed Hannaford like the other ones in the chain. Until 2004, the Rich's logo was still on the doors of the store and on the former pylon sign, just covered with a white board. 

The exterior of the plaza used to look very dated with faded wood shingles. The new owners of the shopping center have renovated the plaza and changed the old pylon sign.  Planet Fitness opened a location at the plaza and Tjmaxx opened where the largely vacant mall section was located. Tractor Supply opened in part of the space vacated by L.L.Bean. Eventually, Planet Fitness relocated to the nearby Shaw's Plaza. The space is now occupied by Aaron's. In 2022,  it was announced that Ulta Beauty would open in the left part of the former L.L.Bean/Rich's. In January 2023, an Old Navy store was nearly ready to open in the center part of that former L.L.Bean/Rich's. In 2024, JFK Plaza gained yet another store with the addition of a Shoe Dept. located on the left of Old Navy.

In February 2025, Joann Fabrics & Crafts announced the closing of about 500 of its 800 stores including the JFK Plaza location.