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Garden State Plaza

Coordinates: 40°55′14″N 74°04′20″W / 40.920578°N 74.072189°W / 40.920578; -74.072189
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Garden State Plaza
Westfield Garden State Plaza on Labor Day 2007, taken from second level above mall's food court
Map
LocationParamus, New Jersey
Address1 Garden State Plaza, Paramus, NJ 07652
Opening dateMay 25, 1957
DeveloperR.H. Macy & Co.
ManagementWestfield Group
OwnerWestfield Group
No. of stores and services335 (As of March 2014)[1]
No. of anchor tenants5[2]
Total retail floor area2,118,718 sq ft (196,835.3 m2)[2]
No. of floors2 (Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy*s, and JCPenney are three floors)
Parking10,796 parking spaces.[2]
WebsiteWestfield.com/GardenStatePlaza

Described by the New York Times as perhaps the single most influential retail destination in the U.S., Westfield Garden State Plaza combines designer brands with the ultimate shopping experience.

With 2,118,718 sq ft (196,835.3 m2) of leasable space,[2][3] and housing over 300 stores,[4] it is the largest mall in New Jersey, the third-largest mall in the New York metropolitan area, and one of the highest-revenue producing malls in the United States. Its department store anchors are J.C. Penney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.[2] It was the first large scale shopping mall in New Jersey.[5]

Westfield Garden State Plaza ranks among the largest shopping malls in the United States, having been ranked 15th largest. Westfield Garden State Plaza is the largest mall in the Westfield Group's global portfolio in terms of leasable area.[6] This is significant given that Westfield Group is the largest retail property group globally.[7]

The mall had sales of $775 per square foot in 2013, about $320 above the national average; Garden State Plaza is one of the most profitable malls in the country.[8]

History

Aerial view of Garden State Plaza

Garden State Plaza was built in 1957 by the Muscarelle Construction Company for owner/developer R.H. Macy & Co. as an open-air shopping "plaza".[9] Its groundbreaking design differed from today's "Big Box" shopping areas in that, rather than having its tenants strung around the periphery of one large parking lot, the stores, except for those more suited for out-parcels (e.g. automotive repair and retail), were clustered on a shopping island, encircled by a moat of parking lots, much like today. Connecting the stores were open-air sidewalks, complete with benches, plantered trees and other vegetation. This model approximated a "downtown" pedestrian mall, at the same time serving as a precursor of the latter-day enclosed and air-conditioned shopping malls. Eventually it would siphon most of the retail business from nearby downtown Paterson, whose Meyer Brothers and Quackenbush department stores (later Stern's-Quackenbush) would fall upon hard times and melt into history.[citation needed]

The original anchor was Bamberger's (owned by R.H. Macy since 1929). Gimbels and J.C. Penney were added in 1958.[10] Total construction costs were $26 million in 1957 for the mall and its original group of 90 stores.[11]

Garden State Plaza drew much business from nearby New York towns and cities, whose shoppers wandered across state lines to take advantage of New Jersey's lower sales taxes and its policy that exempted clothing purchases from sales tax. By 1961, it was the world's largest mall.[11]

The mall was enclosed between 1981 and 1984 in response to competitive pressure from newer fully enclosed malls such as the Willowbrook Mall in nearby Wayne.[12]

In the late 1980s, the mall added a new lower level by converting a former basement truck tunnel into regular retail. The existing J.C.Penney basement was given a new entrance on the lower level, but since the floors were at slightly different elevations, that entrance features the shortest escalator in North America, at a height of six steps.[13]

File:9.5.07AMCGardenStatePlazaMallbyLuigiNovi.JPG
The AMC Theatres at Westfield Garden State Plaza.

As part of this expansion, Nordstrom opened its first New Jersey location on September 7, 1990, building a $37 million, 272,000 sq ft (25,300 m2)., three-level store on the former Gimbel's site.[14] Lord & Taylor opened a store in the mall in 1996, its seventh in the state at the time.[15]

The Venetian Carousel at Garden State Plaza

In 1996, Garden State Plaza marked the completion of a $200 million expansion and major remodeling project that added over 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) of retail space and two four level parking structures, Parking Garage A, and Parking Garage B. The downstairs food court was connected to the lower level from the previous expansion. J.C.Penney grew by 62,000 to 150,000 sq ft (5,800 to 13,900 m2), and two new anchors were added, a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) Neiman Marcus on three levels and a 135,000 sq ft (12,500 m2) Lord & Taylor on two levels, both targeted at the upscale fashion-conscious shopper.[12] A Venetian Carousel was also added at that time of the expansion and remodeling. The carousel is located in front of Macy's.

Westfield acquired the mall in 1986 from Macy's in a deal that also included New Jersey's Brunswick Square Mall and Quaker Bridge Mall.[16][17]

The Borough of Paramus petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision by borough's Planning Board, asking it to review the plans to construct a 163,000-square-foot (15,100 m2) "entertainment lifestyle precinct" at the mall that includes a 16-screen AMC movie theater and 10 specialty retail stores, along with a 158,000-square-foot (14,700 m2) parking lot below the new wing, known as "Parking Garage C".[18] The petition was turned down, and the mall celebrated its 50th Anniversary with the new expansion and stores opened on May 25, 2007.[19]

On January 7, 2013, Parking Garage B, which at the time had already outlived its planned life expectancy and required regular ongoing maintenance, closed to the public. At that time, the 4-level, 1500 space Parking Garage B was razed and rebuilt as a new 5-level structure, featuring a Park-Assist electronic space indicator, and a speed ramp allowing exiting traffic to exit the facility without waiting behind vehicles looking for parking spaces, a problem that plagued the original structure and caused major delays within the original structure. The current 5-level, 1800 space Parking Garage B opened on November 15, 2013. As part of the Parking Garage B replacement, the new structure was moved slightly to the west of the original structure's footprint, requiring the relocation of Garden State Plaza Blvd under the structure's speed ramp to allow for the addition of new mall space. The new mall space will feature entrances to the new Parking Garage B, as well as 20 new stores on 2-levels. The new wing of the mall connecting to the new Parking Garage B opened on March 20, 2014.[20][21]

Blue laws

Due to highly restrictive blue laws in effect in Bergen County and more restrictive limitations in place in Paramus, Westfield Garden State Plaza is completely closed on Sundays, except for some of the restaurants and the movie theater, all of which have special Sunday entrances. Westfield Garden State Plaza's parking lot is accessible, on Sundays, only from the Route 4 and Route 17 access points. Gates are down so that the access roads from the secondary streets are blocked. The Paramus Borough Code forbids the performance of any "worldly employment" on Sunday, with very limited exceptions.[22] These laws were enacted shortly after Westfield Garden State Plaza opened out of fear that the mall would cause high levels of congestion in the borough.[23]

Public transportation

Westfield Garden State Plaza is also a major bus transfer point for New Jersey Transit, as the 162 and 163 to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the 171 and 175 to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station. Several local routes operated under contract to NJT by Coach USA Community Coach stop here; the 770 to Paterson and Hackensack, the 709 to Bloomfield, the 758 to Passaic and Paramus Park, Bergen County local routes 751, 753, 755, and 756 stop there.[24]

The 709, 751, 753, 755, 756, and 758 do not provide bus services on Sundays.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ma, Myles (January 10, 2013). "Garden State Plaza in Paramus starts $130 million remodeling project". NJ.com. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Westfield Garden State Plaza, Westfield Group. Accessed June 6, 2008
  3. ^ Westfield Garden State Plaza, International Council of Shopping Centers. Accessed June 6, 2008 shows 2,000,000 ft²
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NJ.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Shoppers Throng to Opening of Bergen Mall in Jersey". New York Times. November 15, 1957. Retrieved June 7, 2007. The 106-acre Bergen Mall regional shopping center here will open Thursday morning. The center, at which Stern's will be the principal-store, is being built by the Allied Stores Corporation at a cost of $40,000,000. It is at Route 4 and Forest Avenue. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "westfield/corporate" (PDF). Westfield Annual Report 2005. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  7. ^ "westfield.com/corporate". Westfield group. Retrieved November 19, 2006.
  8. ^ Ma, Myles (November 29, 2013). "Garden State Plaza addition to include Tory Burch, Microsoft stores". -NJ.com. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  9. ^ Karsian, Dillon. "Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape.", Shopping Center World, May 1, 1999. Accessed October 20, 2007. "Having undergone periodic renovations and expansions since its spring 1957 debut as an open-air center, the property today stands in the superregional class."
  10. ^ "Garden State Shopping Center Due to Open May 1 in Paramus; It Will Be Largest in Jersey --Bergen Mall Being Built Less Than a Mile Away", The New York Times, March 20, 1957. p. 49.
  11. ^ a b Verdon, Joan. "Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus", The Record, July 27, 2008. Accessed July 30, 2008.
  12. ^ a b Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape, Retail Traffic, May 1, 1999
  13. ^ Hill, Jeffrey. "Taken for a Ride: The insanity of escalators", Next American City, Summer 2008. Accessed February 11, 2011. "By contrast, the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, boasts the world’s shortest escalator pair in front of its JCPenney, at a comical height of six steps. Kids play on them while adults use the more practical, non-moving staircases to the left and right." [dead link]
  14. ^ Karsian, Dillon. "Garden State Plaza Reshaped Landscape", Retail Traffic, May 1, 1999. Accessed February 11, 2011. "In May 1990, Nordstrom debuted in New Jersey by constructing a $37 million, 272,000 sq. ft., three-level store on the former Gimbel's site."
  15. ^ Isadore, Barmash (January 12, 1989). "Lord & Taylor to Bolster Presence in New Jersey". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Gutis, Philip S (November 28, 1987). "The Talk of Garden State Plaza; Scene at Mall in Jersey: Toys, Tinsel and Frenzy". The New York Times. Accessed February 11, 2011. "Mr. Bacon, who took over as general manager after Westfield Inc., an Australia-based developer purchased Garden State Plaza from Macy's last year, said attracting customers to the malls is no real problem. Two million people, he said, live within a 10-mile radius."
  17. ^ Greer, Kimberly (November 7, 1986). "3 Macy's Centers to Be Sold To Australian Company", Newsday. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  18. ^ Verdon, Joan. These aren't your mother's shopping malls, The Record, February 11, 2007.
  19. ^ Gartland, Michael (May 19, 2007). " Epic theater to play its final reel". The Record. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
  20. ^ File photo. "Garden State Plaza in Paramus starts $130 million remodeling project". NJ.com. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  21. ^ "Garden State Plaza begins replacing parking deck, adding stores in $130M remodeling: page all". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  22. ^ Paramus Borough Code: Chapter 391: SUNDAY ACTIVITIES, accessed December 18, 2006
  23. ^ "SUNDAY SELLING PLAGUING JERSEY; Local Businesses Pushing Fight Against Activities of Stores on Highways – Other Group Active Local Option Opposed". The New York Times. June 2, 1957. p. 165
  24. ^ "Westfield Garden State Plaza: Getting Here". Westfield Garden State Plaza. Accessed August 15, 2006.

40°55′14″N 74°04′20″W / 40.920578°N 74.072189°W / 40.920578; -74.072189

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