Kings Plaza facts for kids
Kings Plaza in 2017
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| Location | Brooklyn, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°36′36″N 73°55′12″W / 40.61000°N 73.92000°W |
| Address | 5100 Kings Plaza (2509 Flatbush Avenue) |
| Opening date | September 11, 1970 |
| Developer | Macy's, Alexander's |
| Management | Macerich |
| Owner | Macerich |
| No. of stores and services | 150 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 (6 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in Primark, 4 in Macy's) |
| Public transit access | MTA Bus: B2, B3, B9, B41, B46, B46 SBS, B47, Q35 New York City Subway:   train at Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College (via B41 and Q35) train at Avenue U (via B3) |
Kings Plaza, also known as the Kings Plaza Shopping Center, is a big shopping mall in Brooklyn, New York City. It opened in September 1970. You can find it at the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U.
Some of its main stores are Best Buy, Burlington, Lowe's, Macy's, Primark, and Zara. In the past, stores like Alexander's, JCPenney, and Sears were also there.
Kings Plaza was first owned by Macy's and Alexander's together. Now, Macerich owns and manages it. With over 120 stores and about 4,200 jobs, Kings Plaza is the largest indoor shopping center in Brooklyn.
Contents
What is Kings Plaza Like?
Kings Plaza is located on the south side of Avenue U. It sits between Flatbush Avenue and East 58th Street.
The mall covers a large area of 23 acres. The main part of the mall has two levels of stores. The Macy's store and the old Sears/Alexander's space are four floors high. Each of these big stores is about 330,000 square feet.
At the south end, there is a large parking garage. It can hold almost 4,000 cars. This garage was built using special concrete.
The eastern part of the mall site has a Lowe's store. It also has its own parking lot. Before Lowe's was built, this whole area was just for parking.
Unlike many malls, you have to pay to park at Kings Plaza. This is common for most malls in New York City.
Next to the mall, there is a water area called the Mill Basin Inlet. A marina called Kings Plaza Marina is also there. It was originally planned so shoppers could arrive by boat.
How the Mall Powers Itself
Kings Plaza has its own power plant on the roof. It's called the Kings Plaza Total Energy Plant. This plant uses natural gas engines to make all the electricity the mall needs. The heat from these engines also helps to heat and cool the building.
Recently, the mall has made efforts to be more sustainable. The plant can now send extra power to the local electricity grid. This helps during hot summer days when more power is needed.
Getting to Kings Plaza
The mall is a major stop for many local bus routes. Buses like the B2, B9, B41, and B46 stop at a special bus terminal. Other buses like the B3, Q35, and B47 also serve the mall. The bus terminal was updated in 2005.
The closest New York City Subway stations are a bit further away. You can reach them by taking a bus from the mall. These stations include Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station and Avenue U.
History of Kings Plaza
Building the Mall
Before Kings Plaza was built, the land was used for storing oil. Later, it was home to a plastics factory and a car repair shop.
In 1965, the Alexander's department store chain decided to build a new store here. They wanted to serve the growing neighborhoods in Southeast Brooklyn. By 1966, Macy's joined Alexander's to plan the mall together.
Construction on Kings Plaza began on July 8, 1968. Important people like Mayor John Lindsay attended the ceremony. As part of building the mall, Flatbush Avenue and Avenue U were improved. They were made wider to handle more traffic.
Opening and Early Years
The mall officially opened in September 1970, right after Labor Day. It started with 79 stores. One of the first stores was a Sbarro pizzeria. A movie theater also opened with the mall. Kings Plaza was the first fully enclosed and air-conditioned mall in New York City.
Some local residents were worried about traffic. They blocked nearby streets to keep cars out of their neighborhoods. By the next year, the mall had grown to 125 stores.
More and more people visited the mall over its first ten years. By 1983, about 20,000 cars used the parking lot every day. However, people also worried about theft. So, the mall increased its security team.
Initially, parking at Kings Plaza was free. In 1983, the mall owners wanted to charge 50 cents for parking. This money would help pay for improvements and security. Local residents strongly opposed the fee. After some delays and studies, the parking fee was finally put in place in January 1984.
In the 1980s, Macy's sold its share of the mall to Alexander's. In 1992, Alexander's went out of business and closed its store at Kings Plaza. The space stayed empty until 1997, when Sears took it over. People hoped Sears would help other stores in the mall. However, new shopping areas in Brooklyn also started to compete with Kings Plaza.
Mall Improvements
In May 1999, a big renovation project began. It cost $50 million. This included a new glass entrance on Flatbush Avenue and updates inside the mall.
Around 2002, the mall owners planned to add more space. This new part would be on the parking lot east of 55th Street. It was planned to include a home improvement store, a new movie theater, and more parking.
The parking lot closed in 2003 to prepare for the expansion. Lowe's agreed to open a home improvement store there in 2005. Some people in the community were against the expansion. They worried about even more traffic. Because of this, the plans were made smaller, only including the Lowe's store. Construction started in 2009, and the Lowe's opened on July 23, 2010.
The original movie theater, AMC Loews, closed in January 2010. That space was then turned into a new Best Buy store.
In 2012, Macerich bought Kings Plaza. After this, the mall had a major renovation. They fixed the parking garage, updated the outside of the mall, and improved the common areas inside.
In September 2016, Macerich announced that the Sears store would close. Two European stores, Primark and Zara, would take its place. Later, Burlington opened in part of the old Sears space in 2018. JCPenney also opened a large store in another part of the former Sears in August 2018. However, JCPenney closed its Kings Plaza store on September 27, 2020, after only two years.
See also
In Spanish: Kings Plaza para niños
