Multi-use projects such as the redeveloped Bell Labs in Holmdel, or the proposal to add apartments to the Monmouth Mall are the future of where all major mall developers have to go,said Rick Rizzuto, a Transwestern vice-president based in New Jersey. "They need to become live, work, play, indoor downtown type of environments," he said. "You can’t survive on retail alone.”
“As we move through the next five and 10 years you’re going to see more creativity with vacant spaces in traditional malls,” Rizzuto said.
Here's a look at how the malls in Paramus have evolved, and what the future might hold for them.
1. The Fortress Mall: Westfield Garden State Plaza
Westfield Garden State Plaza is one of America's "fortress malls" — a term the shopping center industry bestows on mallstoo big and too successful to ever die. They are the retail strongholds expected to remain standing even if lesser shopping outposts fall.It has been reinventing itself almost constantly since it was bought by Westfield in 1986.
The past: The Plaza opened in May1957 as a one-level open air center with a Bamberger's and 90 specialty shops. Gimbels and J.C.Penney opened the next year.
The present: It now has2.2 million square feet of retail space over two stories, with more than300 stores that ring up $916 million in annual sales.It has 10,831 parking spaces, and draws 19.3 million visitors a year.
The future:It may be too big to fail, but Westfield renovates like its life depends on it. Whatever the future holds for shopping centers, you can expect Westfield to try to get there before anyone else. It just completed a multi-million renovation to convert its food court into a dining bistro, and to brighten the look of the center. It is adding pop-up food and art experiences to draw new types of visitors. Next year it is expected to announce big plans to reuse the Best Buy building, after that retailer relocates.
Survival odds:Excellent.
2. The Born-AgainMall: The Outlets atBergen Town Center
Bergen Mall opened inNovember1957, was pronounced dead in the late 90s (It has its own listing on deadmalls.com), and since 2009 has been enjoying a glorious rebirth as The Outlets at Bergen Town Center.
Its owner, Urban Edge Properties, calls it one of the top-grossing value-oriented centers in the country. In 2009 it made the radicaldecision to add a Whole Foods supermarket as an anchor store. It now is a combination of traditional mall and power center, with big box stores surrounding an enclosed mall.
Past: It opened six months after, and less than a mile away from its chief rival,Garden State Plaza. It was planned to be one of what then were described as super-malls, so big that only about two dozen cities or communities could support that volume of stores. At various times it had an ice skating rink, a bowling alley, a playhouse for live performances, and a chapel.
Present:It has 1.3 million square feet of retail space and about 100 stores, including two areas removed from the main mall, with freestanding big box stores, including a Lowe's and an REI outdoor store. It has over 5,000 parking spaces. Its ownerforecasts income growth of 6 percent annually and reaching sales per square foot of up to $800.
Future:It is expanding to meet the demand from retailers who want to be in thishot property. Some 80,000 square feet of new retail space is under construction, includinga new freestanding Best Buy store. Urban Edge also has told investors it is acquiring parcels near the center to allow for future expansion.
Survival odds:Great. Don't bet against them.
3. The Stalled Mall: Paramus Park
Of the four Paramus malls, Paramus Park has changed the least over the years. When it opened in 1974, it was hailed as the future of suburban malls, with a state-of- the-art design that included an indoor waterfall, live treesand what is believed to be the first modern mall food court. But a number of proposals intended to reinventthe mall have been stalled since 2008, first due to the recession, then to the bankruptcy and reemergence from bankruptcy of its owner.
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Past:It was the first mall in Bergen County designed to be fully enclosed, and it instantly made Garden State Plaza and Bergen Mall look outdated. Its anchor stores were Sears and A&S, which became a Macy's in 1995.In1999, the mall launched a two-year renovation that removed the waterfall and plantings and gave the center an updated look.
Present:The mall, for the third time in the past decade, is poised to present a major redevelopment plan to the borough, this one calling for a supermarket and a movie theater to replace the Sears store, which is scheduled to close early next year.
Future:Because Paramus Park has stayed much the same for 43 years, it could be the first Paramus mall to undergo radical change that would position it for the live-work-play future predicted for shopping centers. The Paramus master plan now allows the mall to propose multi-family housing or other new uses for the property. Some mall watchers expect Paramus Park to reinvent the suburban mall the same way it did when it first opened.
Survival odds:Iffy if it stays as it is; Good if it can reinvent itself.
4. The De-Malled Pioneer: The Fashion Center
The Fashion Center, once the pinnacle of luxury shopping in North Jersey, a mallthat was dubbed the Fifth Avenue ofBergen County, also was written off as dead before coming backto life. It was the first mall in North Jersey to save the mall by de-malling it. It turned itself inside out,closing off the interior of the mall and converting the center into a collection of big box-style stores with separate entrances.
Past:The mall opened in 1967 and was anchored by the tony B. Altman and Company and Lord & Taylor, with other upscale retailers including Rogers Peet and Georg Jensen. After B. Altman closed in 1989, the mall floundered, and for a while tried to reinvented itself as a kids' play destination, with a Discovery Zone fun center, a toy storeand children's clothing stores.
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Present: WRDC, the Pennsylvania real estate company that bought the mall in 1998, decided quickly that the Fashion Center, at 500,000 square feet,couldn't compete with thelarger malls and moved to de-mall it, redeveloping it into its current configuration. The B. Altman building was subdivided into a Bed, Bath & Beyond; T.J. Maxx, and a Buy Buy Baby. A Fairway supermarket opened there in 2009.
Future: WRDC says the center remains in demand and it expects the center to continue in its current form. Two parent companies of two retailers in the center, Fairway and Toys R Us, have struggled recently, but the Fashion Center's location should help it fill any vacancies that arise in the future.
Survival odds:Good, due to its Grade A location.
