Willowbrook Mall (New Jersey)

Last updated
Willowbrook Mall
Willowbrook Mall - Wayne, New Jersey.jpg
Willowbrook Mall (New Jersey)
Location Wayne, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates 40°53′20″N74°15′36″W / 40.889°N 74.260°W / 40.889; -74.260
Address1400 Willowbrook Mall
Opening dateSeptember 24, 1969;55 years ago (September 24, 1969)
Developer The Rouse Company [1]
Management Brookfield Properties
OwnerBrookfield Properties
No. of stores and services167 [2]
No. of anchor tenants 4
Total retail floor area 1,520,000 sq ft (141,000 m2) [2]
No. of floors1 with partial upper level
Parking Parking lot with 8,000 spaces [2]
Public transit accessAiga bus trans.svg NJT logo.svg NJ Transit Bus: 11, 28 (weekends only), 191, 193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 704, 705, 712, 748, 871, 874
Website willowbrook-mall.com

Willowbrook Mall is a one-level shopping center with a partial second floor located in Wayne, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is near the intersection of New Jersey Route 23, U.S. Route 46, and Interstate 80 in the New York metropolitan area and is situated close to both Essex and Morris counties near the Passaic River. The mall features more than 165 retail establishments and a leasable area of 1,518,006 square feet (141,027.4 m2). It is the fifth-largest shopping mall in New Jersey.[ citation needed ] The mall opened in 1969 and was expanded or renovated in 1970, 1988, 2006, and 2015.

Contents

As of July 2024, the mall's four anchor spaces are occupied by Macy's, Bloomingdale's, BJ's Wholesale Club, and JCPenney. Macy's is the longest tenured anchor, having opened with Willowbrook as a Bamberger's in 1969. Bloomingdale's opened in 2002 in a former Stern's location. BJ's opened its Willowbrook outpost in late 2022 in a portion of the former Sears anchor, which had been downscaled and reconfigured before it was closed. JCPenney, which had been an anchor at neighboring Wayne Towne Center since that mall's opening, moved to Willowbrook in the spring of 2024 to take over a space previously occupied by Ohrbach's, Steinbach, and Lord & Taylor.

The mall also features a 14-screen Cinemark movie theater, which is located in the rear parking lot adjacent to BJ's auto center.

With blue laws in effect in neighboring Bergen County and even stricter restrictions in effect in Paramus, Willowbrook Mall has benefited from the spillover of shoppers on Sunday. [3] The mall and its surrounding access roads and parking areas are prone to flooding in rainstorms. The Passaic River flows near the mall and one of its tributaries, and the Pompton River, runs behind it. [4]

History

Construction of Willowbrook Mall began in 1966 with the groundbreaking of a Bamberger's store. [5] and by 1968 the construction included an Ohrbach's and a Sears. The mall was originally planned as a 110-store indoor shopping mall, encompassing 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2). [6] It opened on September 24, 1969. [7] A second phase opened on August 12, 1970, consisting of 47 specialty stores on two floors, and a Stern's department store. Upon its opening, Willowbrook Mall became the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world. [8]

In 1993, Willowbrook Mall became one of the first malls in New Jersey to ban smoking on mall grounds. [9] [10] The Bamberger's store has been open without interruption for the mall's entire existence, but was rebranded as Macy's in 1986 after its corporate parent decided to rebrand its entire northeastern United States operation under its namesake marque. [11] Ohrbach's came under new ownership and was rebranded as part of the Steinbach chain, which went out of business in 1996. The building was gutted and expanded for its new tenant Lord & Taylor, which opened in 1997. Stern's closed its doors in 2001 after its parent company, Federated Department Stores, retired the brand; the store was converted to its sister brand, Bloomingdale's, which opened on April 11, 2002. [12] [13]

In 2015, it was announced that the mall would undergo a two-year, $23 million renovation. The renovation entailed new ceilings in the Sears & Macy's wings, an overhaul of the food court, new flooring throughout the mall, additional seating, and a two-story streetscape theme for the Bloomingdale's wing. [14] [15] In 2017, Sears opened an updated store format and subleased an unused space to Dave & Buster's, which opened on Valentine's Day 2018. [16] Seritage shuttered and razed the Sears Auto Center for a Cinemark movie theater, becoming the second movie theater within the mall area limits (after a 14-screen AMC Theatres, formerly Loews Theatres). On July 15, 2019, Sears announced that it would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate their traditional brick-and-mortar format. [17] [18] In October 2020, it was announced that BJ's Wholesale Club would plan to open a warehouse store and gas station where the previous Sears outpost was with the gas station opening north of the mall's parking lot. The store opened in 2023. [19]

In August 2018, Macy's added a Macy's Backstage outlet in a portion of its store. [20] A P.F Chang's opened in a small space within the Bloomingdale's store on January 22, 2019. [21]

In August 2020, Lord & Taylor announced that it would shutter its traditional brick and mortar format as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. [22] Shopper's Find opened in Lord & Taylor's former anchor location in June 2021 and closed in early 2023. [23] JCPenney will be closing its Wayne Towne Center location and moving into the former Lord & Taylor location in March 2024. [24]

Public transportation

The mall and its parking lots serve as a transportation hub for the surrounding area. [25] A NJ Transit park and ride facility, opened in 1974, provides bus service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. [26] The 11 , 28 , 191 , 193 , 194 , 195 , 197 , 198 , 324 , 704 , 705 , 712 , 748 , 871 and 874 buses serve the mall.

Willowbrook Mall was the site of the Nickelodeon comedy The Adventures of Pete & Pete special episode "What We Did on Our Summer Vacation", in which Ellen's photo booth was located in the parking lot of the mall. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of Prussia (shopping mall)</span> Shopping mall in Pennsylvania, U.S.

King of Prussia, also referred to as King of Prussia Mall, and referred to by locals as KOP, is a shopping mall located in the community of King of Prussia in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is the largest shopping mall in Pennsylvania and the fourth-largest shopping mall in the United States in terms of gross leasable area. It is an upscale mall with 450 retailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden State Plaza</span> Shopping mall in Paramus, New Jersey

Garden State Plaza is a shopping mall located in Paramus, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Owned and managed by Paris-based real estate management company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the mall is situated at the intersection of Route 4 and Route 17 near the Garden State Parkway, about 15 miles (24 km) west of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Opened in 1957 as the first suburban shopping mall in New Jersey, it has 300 stores and 2,118,718 sq ft (196,835.3 m2) of leasable space, ranked in 2022 as the 16th-largest shopping mall in the United States and qualifying it as a super-regional mall according to the standards of the International Council of Shopping Centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Valley Mall</span> Shopping mall in Langhorne, Pennsylvania

The Oxford Valley Mall is a two-story shopping mall, managed and 85.5 percent-owned by the Simon Property Group, that is located next to the Sesame Place amusement park near Langhorne in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Its department stores are JCPenney and Macy's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Marsh Mall</span> Shopping mall in White Marsh, Maryland

White Marsh Mall is a regional shopping mall in the unincorporated and planned community of White Marsh, Maryland. It is one of the largest regional malls in the Baltimore metropolitan area, with 6 anchor stores and 134 specialty shops in 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2). The mall is anchored by Macy's, Macy's Home Store, Boscov's, JCPenney and Dave & Buster's. White Marsh Mall is the fourth largest mall in the Baltimore area, behind Towson Town Center, Arundel Mills Mall and Annapolis Mall. It is adjacent to an IKEA store and The Avenue at White Marsh shopping center.

Wayne Towne Center is a regional shopping center located in Wayne, New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area, adjacent to Willowbrook Mall along Willowbrook Boulevard. As of 2008, the mall had a gross leasable area of 653,000 square feet (60,700 m2). The center formerly operated as an indoor shopping mall from the time when JCPenney was built, in the late 1980s, until its de-malling in 2008. The inner portion of the mall, which had one floor has since been demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockaway Townsquare</span> Shopping mall in Rockaway, New Jersey

Rockaway Townsquare, also known as the Rockaway Mall, is a two-level super regional shopping mall in Rockaway Township, New Jersey which opened in 1977. It has a gross leasable area of 1,245,741 sq ft (115,733.1 m2) which includes Macy's, JCPenney, Raymour & Flanigan, and over 140 other stores. The mall is owned by Simon Property Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouth Mall</span> Shopping center in Eatontown, New Jersey

Monmouth Mall was an enclosed split level shopping center in Eatontown, New Jersey located on the corner of the intersection of NJ 35, NJ 36, and Wyckoff Road. It was owned Kushner Companies and managed by Westminster Management. The mall had a gross leasable area of 1,500,000 sq ft (140,000 m2), it was the sixth largest shopping mall in New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean County Mall</span> Shopping mall in New Jersey, United States

The Ocean County Mall is a super-regional mall, opened On July 20, 1976, by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, located in Toms River, New Jersey on Hooper Avenue. The mall is accessible from Exit 82 of the Garden State Parkway via Route 37 East. The mall is managed by Simon Property Group. The mall has a gross leasable area of 791,125 sq ft (73,497.9 m2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freehold Raceway Mall</span> Shopping mall in Freehold, New Jersey

Freehold Raceway Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Freehold Township, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of 2020, it was the largest shopping mall in Central Jersey and the state's third largest shopping mall, behind Garden State Plaza in Paramus, and American Dream Meadowlands in East Rutherford. It is located off of U.S. Route 9, Route 33 Business, and County Route 537, opposite the Freehold Raceway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakbrook Center</span> Shopping center in Oak Brook, Illinois

Oakbrook Center is a shopping center established in 1962 and located near Interstate 88 and Route 83 in Oak Brook, Illinois. It is the second largest shopping center in the Chicago metropolitan area by gross leasable area, only surpassed by Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois. The mall has retail anchor tenants including Macy's, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus, and specialty retailers such as Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Altar'd State, Oak+Fort, Tory Burch, Allbirds, Arc'teryx, Golden Goose, Fabletics, Rhone, and Warby Parker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livingston Mall</span> Shopping mall in Livingston New Jersey

Livingston Mall is a two-level shopping mall located in Livingston, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The mall has a gross leasable area of 968,820 sq ft (90,006 m2). Located near the Passaic River close to neighboring Morris County, it serves customers from Essex, Morris and Union counties. The mall is anchored by Macy's and Barnes & Noble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quaker Bridge Mall</span> Shopping mall in Mercer County, New Jersey

Quaker Bridge Mall is a two-level super-regional mall located in the Clarksville section of Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. As of 2022, the mall features the traditional tenants Macy's and JCPenney. The mall currently features prominent specialty stores Coach New York, White House Black Market, and Ann Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgewater Commons</span> Shopping mall in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States

Bridgewater Commons is a fully enclosed shopping mall located in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. The mall is located at the intersection of Route 22 and Route 202/206 and borders I-287. The mall opened on February 24, 1988, as Somerset County's first and has a gross leasable area of 900,000 sq ft (84,000 m2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deptford Mall</span> Shopping mall in Deptford New Jersey, US

Deptford Mall is a major shopping mall in Deptford Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey. Owned and managed by Macerich, it is the county's only indoor regional shopping center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bergen Town Center</span> Shopping Mall in New Jersey

Bergen Town Center is a shopping center located in Bergen County, New Jersey, USA. The center consists of both an indoor mall and exterior outlying stores and occupies over 105 acres split between the municipalities of Paramus and Maywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willowbrook Mall (Houston)</span> Shopping mall in Texas, United States

Willowbrook Mall is an enclosed regional mall in Willowbrook, Houston, Texas at the intersection of Texas State Highway 249 and Farm to Market Road 1960. The mall has 6 anchor stores: Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's, and Nordstrom Rack. In 2000, the mall was the 3rd largest Houston-area retail development based on net rentable area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodbridge Center</span> Shopping mall in Middlesex County, New Jersey, US

Woodbridge Center is a major two-level shopping mall located in Woodbridge Township, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 9. As of 2022, the mall features Macy's, Boscov's, JCPenney, and Dick's Sporting Goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick Square (shopping mall)</span> Shopping mall in New Jersey, United States

Brunswick Square is a single story shopping mall located in East Brunswick, New Jersey, at the intersection of Route 18 and Rues Lane. It is owned and managed by Washington Prime Group and has gross leasable area (GLA) of 769,041 sq ft (71,446.2 m2). The current anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorestown Mall</span> Shopping mall in New Jersey, United States

Moorestown Mall is a shopping mall in Moorestown, New Jersey, owned by PREIT. The mall has over 90 stores and is anchored by Boscov's, Regal Cinemas, Turn 7 Liquidators and Cooper University Health Care - Moorestown Campus. Junior anchors are Five Below, HomeSense, Michaels, and Sierra Trading Post, all located in a converted Macy's anchor store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christiana Mall</span> Shopping mall in Delaware, United States

Christiana Mall is a shopping mall located in Christiana, Delaware between the cities of Newark and Wilmington. The one-level, enclosed super-regional mall is situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Delaware Route 1/Delaware Route 7 near the center of the Northeast megalopolis.

References

  1. ↑ "Mall merchant head predicts great future". The News. Paterson, New Jersey. September 25, 1969. p. 49. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Willowbrook Mall (NJ)". Brookfield Properties.
  3. ↑ Strum, Charles. "Paramus Journal; On Sundays, Bergen Shoppers Rest", The New York Times , December 7, 1992. Accessed August 31, 2018.
  4. ↑ Service, US Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Weather. "National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service". water.weather.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Bamberger's Building Store In New Wayne, N.J., Center". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  6. ↑ "Ohrbach's Builds in Jersey", The New York Times , September 27, 1968. Accessed August 31, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ohrbach Names Executive". timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  8. ↑ "12 Aug 1970, 48 - The Record at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  9. ↑ "2 Big Malls Ban Smoking", The New York Times , October 8, 1993. Accessed September 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Sears Closing Wayne Willowbrook Mall Store". Wayne, NJ Patch. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  11. ↑ Ervolino, Bill. "Then and now: A name change cost Bamberger's its regional flair", The Record , January 28, 2017. Accessed September 3, 2017.
  12. ↑ Combs, Heath E.; and Lillo, Andrea. "Stern's closing puts focus on Macy's, Bloomies", Home & Textile Today, February 12, 2001. Accessed September 3, 2017. "The Stern's locations in Willowbrook and Bridgewater, NJ, will be converted to Bloomingdale's stores."
  13. ↑ "Circle of Life". The Star-Ledger . Newark, New Jersey. April 10, 2002. p. 23.
  14. ↑ Verdon, Joan. "Willowbrook Mall in Wayne to get a facelift", The Record , June 4, 2015, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 20, 2016. Accessed September 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ "At Willowbrook Mall | Seritage".
  16. ↑ "Willowbrook Dave & Buster's gives millennials a reason to go to the mall", North Jersey Media Group , February 13, 2018. Accessed October 15, 2019.
  17. ↑ Anzidei, Melanie (July 15, 2019). "Sears in Wayne to close by mid-September — and liquidation sales have already begun". northjersey.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  18. ↑ Sears & Roebuck at Willowbrook and Staten Island to Close on Sunday, September 15th, 2019, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2019-10-08
  19. ↑ DeVencentis, Philip. "BJ's Wholesale Club could be next anchor at Willowbrook Mall in Wayne". North Jersey. North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  20. ↑ Verdon, Joan (July 3, 2018). "Macy's to open Backstage outlet store at Willowbrook Mall". North Jersey Media Group .
  21. ↑ "P.F. Chang's officially opens at Willowbrook Mall in Wayne". North Jersey. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  22. ↑ Willis, David P. (August 27, 2020). "Lord & Taylor closing all stores, including Freehold Raceway Mall location" . Asbury Park Press . Archived from the original on December 9, 2020.
  23. ↑ DeVencentis, Philip. "Shopper's Find department store closing permanently this week at Willowbrook Mall", The Record , November 29, 2022. Accessed August 28, 2023. "The Shopper’s Find department store will permanently close at Willowbrook Mall on Wednesday. The store, which opened in June 2021 to replace a Lord & Taylor department store, has been liquidating its merchandise since the beginning of last month."
  24. ↑ "Willowbrook Mall to get new anchor store. See who'll join Bloomingdale's, Macy's". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  25. ↑ System Map Passaic County, NJ Transit. Accessed January 4, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Park-Ride Center to Open Monday at Willowbrook Mall", The New York Times , January 4, 1974. p. 64. Accessed July 14, 2017.
  27. ↑ Milici, Lauren. "The Adventures Of Pete & Pete: Paying Tribute To A Quirky Nickelodeon Classic The legendary show gets its due.", Birth.Movies.Death., June 12, 2017. Accessed September 19, 2019. "The photo-booth-turned-command-center that Ellen worked at in the 'What We Did On Our Summer Vacation' special was housed in the parking lot of the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.