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'''Freehold Raceway Mall''' is a super-regional high-end shopping mall located in [[Freehold Township, New Jersey|Freehold Township]], [[New Jersey]]. As of 2023, it is the largest shopping mall in [[Central Jersey]] and is the state's overall third largest [[Shopping malls in New Jersey#Largest malls|shopping mall]],<ref>[https://www.techraj6.com/2020/05/biggest-mall-in-new-jersey.html "The biggest mall in new jersey and here are the top 10"], posted May 6, 2020. Accessed February 28, 2022.</ref> behind [[Garden State Plaza]] in [[Paramus, New Jersey|Paramus]], and [[American Dream Meadowlands]] in [[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East Rutherford]]. It is located off of [[U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey|U.S. Route 9]], [[New Jersey Route 33|Route 33]], and [[County Route 537 (New Jersey)|County Route 537]], opposite the [[Freehold Raceway]].
'''Freehold Raceway Mall''' is a super-regional high-end shopping mall located in [[Freehold Township, New Jersey|Freehold Township]], in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Jersey]] As of 2020, it was the largest shopping mall in [[Central Jersey]] and is the state's third largest [[Shopping malls in New Jersey#Largest malls|shopping mall]], behind [[Garden State Plaza]] in [[Paramus, New Jersey|Paramus]], and [[American Dream Meadowlands]] in [[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East Rutherford]].<ref>[https://www.techraj6.com/2020/05/biggest-mall-in-new-jersey.html "The biggest mall in new jersey and here are the top 10"], TechRaj, May 6, 2020. Accessed June 5, 2023.</ref> It is located off of [[U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey|U.S. Route 9]], [[New Jersey Route 33|Route 33]], and [[County Route 537 (New Jersey)|County Route 537]], opposite the [[Freehold Raceway]].


The mall is anchored by [[Macy's]], [[JCPenney]], [[L.L. Bean]], and [[Primark]].
The mall is anchored by [[Macy's]], [[JCPenney]], [[L.L. Bean]], and [[Primark]], while also featuring premium retailers such as, [[Aerie (American Eagle Outfitters)|Offline by Aerie]], [[Aldo Group|Aldo]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], [[Aveda]], [[Lululemon Athletica|Lululemon]], [[Tailored Brands|Men's Warehouse]], [[Capri Holdings|Michael Kors]], and [[Zara (retailer)|Zara]]. Dining options include [[The Cheesecake Factory]], [[P.F. Chang's]], and [[FoodFirst Global Restaurants|Brio Tuscan Grille]].


==Overview==
==Overview==
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The only evidence of the mall from Route 9 was the monument sign approaching the mall entrance, as the satellite big box stores were not yet built. Customers could also easily travel to the nearby [[Monmouth Mall]], [[Seaview Square Mall]], [[Brunswick Square Mall]], or the [[Manalapan Mall]]. However, once Nordstrom opened the Freehold Raceway Mall now had a store that was sure to be a success due to the fact there was not another Nordstrom store around for {{convert|30|mi|km}}. The crowds eventually came and the vacancy rate at the mall significantly dropped. The explosive success of the Freehold Raceway Mall in the 1990s and early 2000s ultimately led to the downfall of the nearby Manalapan Mall, which closed in 1999 (which redeveloped into the [[Manalapan EpiCentre]]), along with the Seaview Square Mall (which redeveloped into a power center.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}).
The only evidence of the mall from Route 9 was the monument sign approaching the mall entrance, as the satellite big box stores were not yet built. Customers could also easily travel to the nearby [[Monmouth Mall]], [[Seaview Square Mall]], [[Brunswick Square Mall]], or the [[Manalapan Mall]]. When Nordstrom opened the Freehold Raceway Mall had the only location in a {{convert|30|mi|km}} radius. The crowds eventually came and the vacancy rate at the mall significantly dropped. The success of the Freehold Raceway Mall in the 1990s and early 2000s ultimately led to the downfall of the nearby Manalapan Mall, which closed in 1999 (which redeveloped into the [[Manalapan EpiCentre]]), along with the Seaview Square Mall (which redeveloped into a power center.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}).


===2007–2020===
===2007–2020===

Revision as of 13:53, 5 June 2023

Freehold Raceway Mall
Entrance at the outdoor lifestyle center
Map
LocationFreehold, New Jersey
Coordinates40°15′08″N 74°17′41″W / 40.2521°N 74.2946°W / 40.2521; -74.2946
Opening dateAugust 1, 1990; 34 years ago (August 1, 1990)
DeveloperWilmorite
ManagementMacerich
OwnerMacerich and Heitman
No. of stores and services237
No. of anchor tenants4
Total retail floor area1,553,000 square feet (144,300 m2)[1]
No. of floors2 (3 in Macy's)
ParkingParking lot
Public transit accessBus transport NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 67, 836, 838
Websitefreeholdracewaymall.com

Freehold Raceway Mall is a super-regional high-end 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 is the state's third largest shopping mall, behind Garden State Plaza in Paramus, and American Dream Meadowlands in East Rutherford.[2] It is located off of U.S. Route 9, Route 33, and County Route 537, opposite the Freehold Raceway.

The mall is anchored by Macy's, JCPenney, L.L. Bean, and Primark.

Overview

Freehold Raceway Mall logo

The mall is owned and managed by The Macerich Company, having purchased the mall from developer Wilmorite in 2005, and has a 1,671,000 sq ft (155,200 m2) of total gross leasable area,[3] making it the third largest shopping mall in New Jersey. An outdoor lifestyle addition, begun in January 2007, added 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of additional retail space.

On November 23, 2011, the mall was ranked in a Weather Channel news article titled "The Most Congested Malls for Black Friday". Freehold Raceway Mall ranked third in the nation.[4]

History

Construction on Freehold Raceway Mall commenced in 1987,[5] across the street from the Freehold Raceway on land used for stables. The stables still exist, connected by a small pedestrian/horsecart bridge over Route 9, but they can only be accessed via mall entrance road. In preparation for the mall's opening, the Freehold Circle was eliminated and rebuilt into an at-grade intersection with traffic lights and jughandles. A traffic light and jughandle for the mall entrance road from Route 9 was also constructed due south of the intersection of U.S. Route 9 and Business Route 33.[citation needed]

1990–2007

The mall officially opened on August 1, 1990; the public opening was preceded by a private "preview" gala and fundraiser for CentraState Medical Center which included papier-mâché racehorse centerpieces and a fabric replica of the food court's carousel, which had not yet arrived from Italy.[6] The mall originally had two anchors: Sears and Lord & Taylor with construction already underway on JCPenney (originally planned to be Hahne's, but the company was merged into Lord & Taylor), which later opened in 1991 as well as Nordstrom, which later opened in 1992.[7] A fifth anchor, Macy's, was opened on October 7, 1998.[8] The mall was not initially successful. Vacancies were imminent, and many of the spaces were filled with non-traditional mall tenants, such as municipal services. Local photography clubs displayed their photos on the mall's empty walls, while other areas sported photos of the raceway and the fire that occurred in 1984.

Retro photos of how the Freehold Raceway Mall appeared during the 1990s and early-mid 2000s.

The only evidence of the mall from Route 9 was the monument sign approaching the mall entrance, as the satellite big box stores were not yet built. Customers could also easily travel to the nearby Monmouth Mall, Seaview Square Mall, Brunswick Square Mall, or the Manalapan Mall. When Nordstrom opened the Freehold Raceway Mall had the only location in a 30 miles (48 km) radius. The crowds eventually came and the vacancy rate at the mall significantly dropped. The success of the Freehold Raceway Mall in the 1990s and early 2000s ultimately led to the downfall of the nearby Manalapan Mall, which closed in 1999 (which redeveloped into the Manalapan EpiCentre), along with the Seaview Square Mall (which redeveloped into a power center.[citation needed]).

2007–2020

Freehold Raceway Mall entrance featuring the original Nordstrom seen from the 2007 lifestyle center addition

Freehold Raceway Mall was expanded in 2007, and construction began in January. The expansion was built in the space between JCPenney and Sears in the upper floor parking lot. The addition included a strip of outdoor stores along the JCPenney side of the mall, occupied by 13 to 15 stores, two restaurants, a promenade, an area for community events and a valet parking station.[citation needed]

In April 2007, the mall's first renovation project was underway. The renovation replaced the flooring, changing the brown and green tile to a beige stone tile, it replaced the green paint on the ceilings and ironwork with a more beige/earthtone, the brass rails were replaced in favor of wooden rails, new lighting under the skylights and along/under the columns was added, the globe lighting along the skylights, pillars and ironwork was replaced, a new escalator next to Sears was added, soft, carpeted seating areas were added and the large center court fountain was replaced with a smaller fountain, and a soft seating area.[9] New additions include single- and two-story retail spaces, and two new parking lots which were built on site to replace those that were lost. They are located along the Raceway Mall Drive entrance and on the opposite side of the ring road next to Nordstrom.[citation needed]

The Freehold Raceway Mall under renovation in Summer 2007.
Foot traffic at Freehold Raceway Mall on a weekday afternoon, October 2019
The Center Court post-renovation, January 2009

On July 18, 2011, Borders Books & Music announced that they will be liquidating all of their stores, including their Freehold location.[10] In September 2013, L.L.Bean opened their third New Jersey location inside the former Borders Books & Music anchor. They hosted a grand opening festival including giveaways, contests, and also a Birds of Prey exhibit as well.[11][12] On July 16, 2016, Primark joined the shopping center.[13]

2020–present

The early 2020's saw several storied traditional department store retailers update its brick-and-mortar divisions after being disrupted by several digital retailers and the COVID pandemic in recent years.

On May 7, 2020, Nordstrom, which maintains several additional outposts close by, announced plans to shutter the Freehold Raceway Mall location along with several additional locations nationwode as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

On August 27, 2020, Lord & Taylor announced they would shutter their brick-and-mortar retail base after modernizing into a digital collective department storefront.[15][16]

By October 2022, after the COVID-19 shut down, Freehold Raceway Mall had announced several new additions, among them are Offline by Aerie, Torrid, and Elite Jewelers. As of 2023, Lidl occupies the same outparcel space that Bob's Stores used to be located, while Bob's Stores is now an attached fixture of the mall next to Primark.[17]

On May 25, 2021, the Freehold Township Planning Committee proposed a rezoning ordinance to the shopping centers in the township, the Freehold Raceway Mall property notwithstanding. The township's Business Administrator Peter Valesi, expressed the need to modernize the township's shopping centers.[18] On July 13, 2021, the township planning board approved the amendment in a 3-1 decision. This legislation redefines the "regional mall" as a "regional mall shopping center".[19]

Freehold Raceway Mall center court as it appears, Summer 2021
Freehold Raceway Mall center court as it appears in Summer 2021

The expansion of zoning allowances grants the owners of the mall the ability to potentially include more commercial amenities, such as; movie theaters, performing arts venues, indoor amusement parks, roller rinks and other assortment of recreational activities.[20] The rezoning could also allow the mall to offer designated civic, cultural and senior citizen centers, as well as educational spaces, office spaces, breweries, and health care facilities.[20]

The rezoning policies will allow the mall to offer more 'lifestyle' amenities, which are becoming more commonplace in other prominent malls in the state (such as what can be found at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne or the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford), while also still preserving the prestige that this mall has earned with its reputation in featuring luxurious retailers.[21][22]

Anchors

Current anchors

Former anchors

See also

Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Connecticut - Built by developer Wilmorite a few years before Freehold Raceway Mall and also currently owned by Macerich. Due to both malls being built around the same time in the New York metropolitan area, utilizing similar interior design fixtures, along with both malls residing under relatively similar socioeconomic areas and thus offering similar stores, they are sometimes attributed as retail 'twins'.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ "Macerich | Properties | Freehold Raceway Mall". www.macerich.com. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  2. ^ "The biggest mall in new jersey and here are the top 10", TechRaj, May 6, 2020. Accessed June 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "The biggest mall in new jersey and here are the top 10", posted May 6, 2020. Accessed February 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Breslin, Sean (November 23, 2011). "The Most Congested Malls for Black Friday". The Weather Company. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  5. ^ "Wilmorite : Portforlio Information". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
  6. ^ Henderson, Marguerite (August 1, 1990). "Plenty to ogle at raceway mall preview". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Conroy, William (June 9, 1991). "Despite recession, retailer continues expansion plans". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Serra, Maria Jose (October 8, 1998). "Macy's wins at Raceway". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ [1][dead link]
  10. ^ Rooney, Ben (July 18, 2011). "Borders liquidates: 10,700 jobs lost". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Hochron, Adam (September 19, 2013). "L.L. Bean Grand Opening Celebration This Weekend". Freehold, NJ: Patch. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "At Freehold Raceway Mall". seritage.com.
  13. ^ Willis, David P. (December 11, 2019). "Sears to close Freehold Raceway Mall store; sales start soon". Asbury Park Press. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  14. ^ Alexander, Dan (May 7, 2020). "Nordstrom to close the store at Freehold Raceway Mall". WKXW. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  15. ^ Jordan Valinsky. "Lord & Taylor is closing all of its stores after 194 years in business". CNN. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  16. ^ 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. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Willis, David P., "Bob's Stores coming back to Freehold Raceway Mall, and Lidl bringing grocery too, Asbury Park Press, December 6, 2022. Accessed December 6, 2022.
  18. ^ Sockol, Matthew. "Freehold Township officials propose permitting new uses at mall", centraljersey.com. June 30, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  19. ^ Sockol, Matthew. "Township Committee revises zoning at Freehold Raceway Mall site", centraljersey.com. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Rosenthal, Nicole. "Freehold Twp Committee Approves Expanded Raceway Mall Uses", Patch. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Sockol, Matthew. "Township Committee revises zoning at Freehold Raceway Mall site", centraljersey.com., July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  22. ^ Burch, Christopher. "Big changes coming to N.J. mall, including relocation of Apple store", nj.com, Published: May 21, 2023, Updated: May 24, 2023. Accessed May 28, 2023.
  23. ^ Langlois, Mark. "Danbury mall sold in $2.33B deal", News-Times, December 24, 2004. Accessed April 3, 2022.
  24. ^ "Freehold Raceway Mall; Freehold, New Jersey", Labelscar: The Retail History Blog, December 14, 2006. Accessed April 3, 2022.
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