Ocean County Mall

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Ocean County Mall
Ocean County Mall.jpg
Center court during Christmas 2006
Location Toms River, New Jersey, USA
Opening date 1976
Management Simon Property Group
No. of stores and services 140+
No. of anchor tenants 4
Total retail floor area 890,000 sq ft (83,000 m2)[1]
No. of floors 1 (2 in department stores except Sears)
Parking Lighted Lot
Website SIMON.com

The Ocean County Mall is a super-regional mall, opened in 1976 by Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation, located in Toms River, New Jersey on Hooper Avenue (County Route 549). The mall is accessible off of Exit 82 of the Garden State Parkway via Route 37 East. The mall is managed by Simon Property Group. The mall has a gross leasable area of 890,000 sq ft (83,000 m2).[2]

The mall is anchored by Boscov's, JCPenney, Macy's and Sears. It also contains several eateries, and a small food court. The Ocean County Mall is the only enclosed mall in Ocean County. It is a popular destination for tourists in the Toms River area during the summer season.

History

In the 1970s, the Toms River area, although growing quickly, was still relatively rural. The closest malls were the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, and the Shore Mall in Egg Harbor. With the growing need for an enclosed mall, the mall was originally planned to be at the intersection of Route 37 and the Garden State Parkway.[3] However, the mall opened in 1976 at its current location at Hooper Avenue and Bay Avenue, with 3 anchors and a cinema.

In 1988, a small expansion was built which included a Stern's. When the chain went out of business, it was turned into Boscov's. Around the same time, the General Cinema quietly closed down due to competition from the AMC-Loews across the street at Seacourt Pavilion. The Cinema's main mall entrance near Applebee's was sealed off for years, while the small side hallway near Sears remained locked and dark. In 2009, Benihana opened in the vacant space. Benihana closed abruptly in February, 2012,[4] and was replaced by Ichiban, a similar style restaurant, in 2013.

In 2003, the mall received a complete renovation, which added new signage, flooring, lighting, seating areas, and lighting in the parking lot. The renovation was partially sponsored by the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, which donated seating & lounge areas, in part to encourage mall walking. To accommodate, there is a stretch of discolored tile around the perimeter of the mall with numbers engraved marking walking distance. Also, Starbucks and Auntie Annes open at 8:30 am (10:00 on Sundays) to cater to the mall walkers who arrive before the rest of the mall opens.

Anchors

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Mall anchors, listed in descending order by square footage, are as follows:

  • Macy's (174,120 sq ft.) opened as Bamberger's in 1977[5]
  • J.C. Penney (173,428 sq ft.)
  • Boscov's (165,855 sq ft.) formerly Stern's, a 1991 expansion
  • Sears (107,430 sq ft.)

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. International Council of Shopping Centers: Ocean County Mall, accessed September 21, 2006
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. [1] Toms River Patch, accessed 11/1/2015
  5. http://departmentstoremuseum.blogspot.com/2010/09/l-bamberger-co-newark-new-jersey.html