Manalapan Mall
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The Manalapan Mall opened in 1971 on Route 9 in Manalapan Township, New Jersey. The mall served the Marlboro Township and Freehold area.
The mall's first phase (and only phase) was anchored by Steinbach's, and had 25 stores. The second phase was to include a Macy's, a Sears, and will grow to a total of 100 stores. But the plans were gutted because of financial problems. By the 1980s, plans were held for a super-regional mall, the Freehold Raceway Mall, about 5 miles south on Route 9. By the time the Steinbach chain had to be liquidated, the Steinbach's at the mall was changed to a Value City.
By the late 1990s, while Freehold Raceway Mall was prospering, Manalapan Mall was becoming a dead mall. In 1998, the mall, except for the Value City, was torn down to make way for a big-box epicentre. The Value City is a stand-alone store while the south and west corners of the old mall were turned into Wegmans, Nobody Beats The Wiz (which was closed in 2003), Dick's Sporting Goods (which later moved to a space at the Freehold Raceway Mall and was replaced by Marshall's) and a Target. Other smaller businesses in the epicentre are Applebee's, Verizon, Eyechic Optical Boutique, and Gary's Jewelers
