Bergen Town Center

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Bergen Town Center
Mall facts and statistics
Location Paramus, New Jersey
Opening date November 14, 1957 (outdoor plaza)
September 16, 1973 (enclosed mall)
Developer Allied Stores
Owner Vornado Realty Trust
No. of stores and services 100
No. of anchor tenants 5
Total retail floor area 917,129 ft²
Parking 8,600 spaces
No. of floors 1
Website http://www.bergenmallonline.com/


Bergen Town Center, known as the Bergen Mall until 2006, is located in Paramus and Maywood, New Jersey, United States, and opened in 1957 as an outdoor shopping center. It is the oldest mall in New Jersey.[1] The mall offers a Gross leasable area (GLA) of 917,129 ft².[2] The mall is located at the junction of Route 4 and Forest Avenue, and includes a separate shopping strip, south of Route 4 connected to the rest of the property via a pedestrian bridge. The mall has over the years included community spaces, including a theater, ice rink[3] and bowling alley.

[edit] History

The mall was first planned in 1955 by Allied Stores to have 100 stores and 8,600 parking spaces in a 1.5 million ft² mall that would include a 300,000 ft² Stern's store and two other 150,000 ft² department stores as part of the initial design. Allied's chairman B. Earl Puckett announced the Bergen Mall as the largest of ten proposed centers, stating that there were 25 cities that could support such centers and that no more than 50 malls of this type would be built nationwide.[4] The mall opened on November 14, 1957 with great fanfare, as Dave Garroway, host of The Today Show served as master of ceremonies.[5]

A 135,000 ft² Ohrbach's location was added, opening on August 17, 1967.[6]

The mall was enclosed in 1973,[7][8] The newly-enclosed mall opened on September 15, 1973, part of a wave away from outdoor malls, a trend that the Garden State Plaza joined shortly thereafter.[9] Despite some changes through the years, still looks largely the same today. The Orbach's location was converted to a Steinbach, which was repurposed as a Value City. Stern's was bought out by Federated Department Stores and the location was converted into a Macy's, before shutting down. In the early 90's the mall was repositioned as a value oriented center that included a Marshalls, Gap Outlet and Value City.

The Bergen Mall was the target of a lawsuit by nuclear-freeze advocates who challenged the malls restrictions on distribution of literature to shoppers. On October 12, 1984, Bergen County Superior Court judge Paul R. Huot ruled that the organization should be allowed to distribute literature anywhere and anytime in a shopping mall, noting that "the Bergen Mall has assumed the features and characteristics of the traditional town center for the citizens who reside in Paramus and surrounding Bergen County towns."[10]

In 2003, the mall was sold to Vornado Realty Trust, and plans are to convert the mall to open air format, with high profile stores, and changes in the looks of the mall.

On August 10, 2006, Century 21 opened, one of the first of many changes that are planned for the mall. Century 21 took the 135,000 sq. ft. space formerly used by Macy's (which had previously been Stern's).[11]

On November 30, 2006, the Paramus Planning Board approved a series of changes that would bring the mall up to 1,500,000 ft² at a cost of $171 million. The revamped mall, to be called Bergen Town Center, is planned to include 872,000 ft² of renovated mall retail space and a 167,000 ft² freestanding big-box store across Forest Avenue in Maywood, which may be used for a Lowe's. A total of 4,339 parking spaces, including a five-story parking garage, will be provided.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Bergen Mall's makeover approved, The Record (Bergen County), December 1, 2006
  2. ^ International Council of Shopping Centers: Bergen Mall, accessed November 6, 2006
  3. ^ "Ice Skating Is Nice Skating Indoors or Out", The New York Times, January 21, 1977. p. 63
  4. ^ "10 Shopping Centers Scheduled For Allied Stores Within 3 Years; Chain's Chairman Gives Details of Biggest, 7 Miles From George Washington Span, Where Stern Will Open Branch by '57: STORE CHAIN PLANS 10 RETAIL CENTERS", The New York Times, January 13, 1955. p. 37
  5. ^ "Shoppers Throng to Opening of Bergen Mall in Jersey", The New York Times, November 15, 1957
  6. ^ " E.J. Korvette and Ohrbach's Open New Stores; OHRBACH'S OPENS PARAMUS STORE Shoppers in Jersey Happy With Bergen Mall Addition", The New York Times, August 18, 1967. p. 20
  7. ^ "Bergen Mall to Be Enclosed Next Year", The New York Times, July 9, 1972. p. 62
  8. ^ "Enclosure of Bergen Mall Is Progressing; A Change in Thinking Construction Began in '56", The New York Times, June 10, 1973. p. 82
  9. ^ "$1-Million Roofed Mall Opens in Bergen; Tax Case Is Pending", The New York Times, September 16, 1973. p. 93
  10. ^ "JERSEY JUDGE ORDERS LEAFLET DISTRIBUTION IN MALL AT ANY TIME", The New York Times, October 21, 1984. p. A.49
  11. ^ Century 21 Department Store Announces August 10th, 2006 Grand Opening of its Newest Designer Label Discount Megastore at Bergen Mall, Paramus, NJ, press release dated August 4, 2006

[edit] External links

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