Palmer Park Mall facts for kids
| Location | Palmer Township, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°41′48″N 75°15′29″W / 40.6968°N 75.2581°W |
| Address | 123 Palmer Park Mall Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Opening date | August 16, 1973 |
| Owner | Cityview Commercial LLC |
| No. of stores and services | 55 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 457,734 square feet (42,524.9 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Parking | Parking lot |
| Public transit access |  LANTA bus: 106, 216, 217 |
The Palmer Park Mall is a popular indoor shopping mall located in Palmer Township, Pennsylvania. It's in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. This mall is a single-story building, making it easy to get around.
The mall is quite large, covering about 457,734 square feet. You can find it where PA Route 248 (Nazareth Road) meets Park Avenue. It's a big part of Northampton County.
With over 50 different stores, there's a lot to explore. The main store, called an "anchor" store, is a large Boscov's. There's also a big empty space that used to be another anchor store, The Bon-Ton. The mall is currently owned by a company called Cityview Commercial LLC.
Palmer Park Mall is the main shopping spot for many people. It serves residents from nearby towns like Easton, Bethlehem, Forks, Palmer, and Williams. It also helps people from smaller towns like Glendon, West Easton, and Wilson.
The mall is also a special "metro transit center." This means it's a place where you can catch different LANTA Metro buses. It's a convenient spot to switch bus routes.
Contents
The Mall's Story: How It Grew
The idea for Palmer Park Mall first came out in October 1971. A department store company called Hess's announced their plans. They wanted to build a large mall with many stores and lots of parking spaces.
Early Days and First Stores
Hess's opened its own department store at the mall site in July 1972. This was even before the rest of the mall was finished! The Palmer Park Mall officially opened its doors on August 16-18, 1973. At that time, Hess's was the only big anchor store.
Just a few years later, in 1976, Hess's made its store even bigger. This expansion added more space for shoppers. The mall itself also grew in 1982 to make room for a second main store. This new store was an 80,000 square foot Clover department store. Clover was a discount store owned by Strawbridge & Clothier.
Challenges and New Beginnings
During the 1990s, the mall faced some tough times. Its design was getting old, and a much newer, bigger mall opened nearby in 1989. This made business a bit slower for Palmer Park Mall.
In 1994, the Hess's store chain was sold. The Hess's at Palmer Park Mall became a The Bon-Ton store the next year. Then, in 1996, the Clover department store closed its doors.
Things started to look up for the mall in October 1998. That's when Boscov's opened, taking over the old Clover space. The mall also got bigger to fit Boscov's. In 1999, the mall received a big update with a $10 million renovation. This made the mall look fresh and modern again. Bon-Ton also invested over $1 million to update its own store.
New Ownership and Recent Changes
By 2003, the mall was fully owned by a company called Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT). They bought out their partner, Crown American.
In 2015, PREIT decided to sell Palmer Park Mall and some other properties. They wanted to focus on malls that made more money per square foot. So, on February 23, 2016, Cityview Commercial LLC bought the mall for $18 million. They had plans to make the mall even better.
In 2018, The Bon-Ton store chain faced financial difficulties. They had to close all their stores, including the one at Palmer Park Mall. The mall's management is now thinking about how to use that large empty space. They might even divide it up for several smaller stores.
Main Stores
- Boscov's (1998–present)
Past Main Stores
- Hess's (1972–1994, later became The Bon-Ton)
- Clover (1982–1996, later became Boscov's)
- The Bon-Ton (1994–2018)
