Phillipsburg Mall facts for kids
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Exterior view of Phillipsburg Mall, May 2018
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| Location | Lopatcong Township and Pohatcong Township, New Jersey, United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°41′06″N 75°09′14″W / 40.685°N 75.154°W |
| Opening date | September 24, 1989 |
| Closing date | March 18, 2020 |
| Developer | Crown American |
| Owner | Mason Asset Management, Namdar Realty Group |
| No. of stores and services | 0 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 0 (4 at peak) |
| Total retail floor area | 578,925 square feet (53,783.9 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
The Phillipsburg Mall was a large indoor shopping mall in New Jersey, United States. Even though it was called Phillipsburg Mall, it was actually located near the towns of Lopatcong and Pohatcong. It was a popular place for shopping and hanging out for many years.
A shopping mall is a big building with many different stores inside. Malls often have large "anchor stores" like department stores, which are usually the biggest shops. The Phillipsburg Mall once had four main anchor stores. Over time, many stores closed, and the mall became known as a dead mall. This means most of its shops were empty.
Contents
The Mall's Beginning
The idea for Phillipsburg Mall started in 1985. A company called Crown American planned to build it. They chose some big stores to be the first anchor stores. These included Bradlees, Sears, and Hess's.
However, Bradlees was closing some of its stores. So, Crown American decided to put a Kmart in that spot instead. The mall was supposed to open in 1987. But there were some delays because of issues with the roads and sewage system.
Grand Opening Day
The Phillipsburg Mall finally opened its doors on September 24, 1989. It was a huge event! The mall had Kmart, Hess's, and Sears as its main anchor stores. There were also 90 smaller shops ready for customers. More stores were set to open later that year.
Over 7,000 people came to the grand opening. The Hess's store was so popular that it had to skip its ribbon-cutting ceremony. About 2,000 to 3,000 people were waiting to get inside! Traffic on the nearby highway, U.S. Route 22, was backed up for a mile in both directions.
A few months later, in March 1990, another big store, JCPenney, opened at the mall.
Changes Over the Years
In 1994, the Hess's store was sold and became The Bon-Ton. Then, in 2002, Kmart closed its store as part of a company bankruptcy. The space was later sold to Kohl's, which opened in April 2004.
In 2013, the mall was sold to new owners, Mason Asset Management and Namdar Realty Group. After this, more changes happened. On January 15, 2014, JCPenney announced it would close its store. Many other smaller shops also left the mall around this time.
New Stores and Closures
Even as some stores left, new ones tried to open. An antique shop called Black Rose Antiques & Collectibles moved into the old JCPenney space in 2017. A record store named Spin Me Round Records also opened. A Gold's Gym opened in a space that used to have other shops and restaurants.
However, more big stores started to close. On November 2, 2017, Sears Holdings announced that the Sears store would close. It was the only Sears or Kmart in New Jersey closing in that plan. The Sears store and its auto center closed on January 28, 2018.
Soon after, The Bon-Ton also announced it would close its Phillipsburg Mall location. This happened on April 29, 2018.
In August 2018, a part of the roof in the empty Sears store collapsed during a heavy rainstorm. The old Sears building was torn down in August 2019. The former Bon-Ton building was also demolished in October of that year.
The Mall's Closure
By 2019, many stores in the mall had closed. This included popular shops like H&M, Victoria’s Secret, and Gold’s Gym. On December 23, 2019, the remaining stores were told they had 30 days to leave.
Black Rose Antiques, one of the last new stores, announced its closure on January 28, 2020. It closed in March. By March 2020, Kohl's was the only store left. The main indoor part of the mall was completely closed sometime in 2020.
On January 29, 2021, the mall's owners announced that the rest of the mall would be torn down. This demolition was planned to make space for a large new warehouse.
Images for kids
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GameStop at Phillipsburg Mall prior to the mall's demolition, January 2020
