Fashion Center facts for kids
The Fashion Center sign, still used to this day
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| Location | Paramus, New Jersey, United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°58′01″N 74°04′31″W / 40.9670°N 74.0754°W |
| Opening date | February 15, 1967 |
| Developer | Associated Dry Goods |
| Owner | Willner Realty and Development Co. |
| No. of stores and services | 11 (as of 2013) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 9 (6 open, 3 vacant by 2020) |
| Total retail floor area | 446,000 sq ft (41,400 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (original indoor mall), 1 (current layout) Lord & Taylor and former B. Altman store each operate on three levels; the B. Altman store houses T.J. Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Buy Buy Baby, with one store occupying each floor. |
| Public transit access |   NJ Transit bus: 722, 752 |
The Fashion Center is a shopping center located in Paramus, New Jersey. It first opened in 1967 as a traditional indoor shopping mall. Over several years, it changed into a different kind of shopping place. Now, each store has its own entrance from outside. The old indoor hallways were closed off.
Some of the main stores here are Lord & Taylor (which closed in 2021), Denny's Children Wear, Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Buy Buy Baby, and Bed Bath & Beyond. There are also three empty spaces that used to be Jenny Jon, Cost Plus World Market, and Fairway Market.
The Willner Realty company from Pennsylvania owns the Fashion Center. It's considered a smaller shopping center today. It has less than 15 stores, even at its busiest.
Because of special rules called "blue laws" in Bergen County, New Jersey, the Fashion Center is closed on Sundays. This rule is even stricter in Paramus. Only a few places like Applebee's and Blimpie can open on Sundays.
Contents
History of the Fashion Center
Before the Fashion Center was built, this area was mostly wet land and grassy fields. It was a natural home for animals like muskrats. The shopping center officially opened its doors on February 15, 1967.
Early Days and Original Stores
The developers wanted to attract people from the wealthy Bergen County, New Jersey area. So, they included two large anchor stores. These were Lord & Taylor at one end and B. Altman and Company at the other. The company that owned Lord & Taylor, called Associated Dry Goods, helped build the main part of the mall.
The two big department stores were connected by a long indoor shopping area. This hallway was about 1,500 feet long. There was also a separate building in the parking lot. This building first became a Britt's store, then later a Toys "R" Us.
Changes and Challenges
The Fashion Center was quite popular in the 1970s. It had a modern design, and the main area even featured a fountain. However, as time went on, other malls opened nearby in Paramus. Places like Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park, and Bergen Town Center started to attract shoppers.
By the 1980s, this new competition caused problems for the Fashion Center. When B. Altman closed, the mall became less popular. Many stores moved out, leaving Lord & Taylor as the only main store. Some people even started calling it a "dead mall" because it was so empty.
Transforming the Mall
In 1996, the large empty space where B. Altman used to be was divided into smaller stores. Around 2001, the owners began planning to change the mall. They wanted it to become more like a collection of separate stores.
In 2003, Best Buy opened a store at the Fashion Center. This meant some of the mall's entrances had to be closed. Lord & Taylor also changed its entrance the next year. By late 2008, the main mall entrance was closed for renovations. It reopened in 2009.
Later that year, a Fairway Market store opened. It took up a large part of the old indoor space. This completed the big change for the Fashion Center. It was no longer a traditional indoor mall. Instead, it became a group of stores, each with its own entrance from the outside. There was no longer a shared indoor area for shoppers.
Recent Closures
In September 2011, Lord & Taylor opened a special home store at the Fashion Center. However, it closed in 2013. A World Market store took its place in 2016.
In March 2020, it was announced that Fairway Market would be closing. The space was planned to become an Amazon Go market. The closing was delayed until summer 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 27, 2020, it was announced that Lord & Taylor would also be closing all its stores across the country, including the one at the Fashion Center.
