The mall is anchored by Boscov's, JCPenney, and Macy's. The center went under development in 2019 bringing a slew of national retail and restaurant tenants like ULTA Beauty, On The Border, P.F. Chang's, HomeSense and more. It also contains several eateries, and a food court. The Ocean County Mall is the only enclosed mall in Ocean County. It is a popular destination for tourists in the Toms River area during the summer season.
History
In the 1970s, the Toms River area, although growing quickly, was still relatively rural. The closest malls were the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, and the Shore Mall in Egg Harbor. With the growing need for an enclosed mall, the mall was originally planned to be at the intersection of Route 37 and the Garden State Parkway.[4] Ocean County Mall was a joint-venture between the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation and Corporate Property Investors, of New York. Sears opened on July 19, 1976. Ocean County Mall opened for business on July 28, 1976. The mall opened with 55 of the 92 stores and 2 of the 3 anchors. Open anchors at the time included JCPenney, and Sears.[5]Bamberger's opened on March 10, 1977.[6] A cinema ,General Cinema, then, Cinemagic Theatres in January 1998, was Closed on October 24, 2002. It sat Vacant until 2007 when it was replaced by a Japanese restaurant.
In 1988, a small expansion was built which included a Stern's. The store closed in 2001, when the chain was folded. The space was taken over by Boscov’s. Around the same time, the General Cinema quietly closed down due to competition from the AMC-Loews across the street at Seacourt Pavilion. The Cinema's main mall entrance near Applebee's was sealed off for years (now a Japanese restaurant, Ichiban), while the small side hallway near Sears remained locked and dark.[7]
In 2003, the mall received a complete renovation, which added new signage, flooring, lighting, seating areas, and lighting in the parking lot. The renovation was partially sponsored by the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, which donated seating & lounge areas, in part to encourage mall walking. To accommodate, there is a stretch of discolored tile around the perimeter of the mall with numbers engraved marking walking distance.
On January 4, 2018, it was announced that the Sears would be closing in early April of that year as part of a plan to close 103 stores nationwide.[8]
Sears closed on April 8, 2018. Brookfield and Simon redeveloped the space to include more retail, restaurants, and fitness by 2020. Its one of the five malls owned by Brookfield and Simon that had Sears closed planned to be redeveloped.[9] In January 2020, LA Fitness opened in part of the Sears space. Five Below opened in July 2020. In September 2020, Ulta Beauty opened. HomeSense opened in December 2020.
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NJ Transit bus: 67