Woodbridge Center facts for kids
An entrance to the Center; The four W towers face the four compass directions, with the ones most prominent in the picture being west and south.
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| Location | Woodbridge, New Jersey |
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| Coordinates | 40°33′24″N 74°17′57″W / 40.556666°N 74.299213°W |
| Address | 250 Woodbridge Center Drive |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| Developer | The Rouse Company |
| Management | Brookfield Properties |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| No. of stores and services | 200 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 (4 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,633,000 square feet (151,700 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in Macy's and former Sears) |
| Parking | Parking lot with 8,651 spaces |
| Public transit access |   NJ Transit bus: 48, 810, 815 |
Woodbridge Center is a major two-level shopping mall located in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 9. The land that Woodbridge Center now stands on used to be the location of the old clay pits in Woodbridge. The mall is owned and managed by Brookfield Properties. It features 200 retail establishments and four anchor stores: Boscov's, Dick's Sporting Goods, J. C. Penney, and Macy's. The mall features a fountain, carousel, train ride, and children's play area. Although most malls have a food court, Woodbridge Center's eating establishments are spread throughout the mall with their own individual seating areas and restrooms. Before the coming of the food court, all malls had their eating establishments spread throughout the mall.
The mall's location near Staten Island and the benefit of no sales tax on clothes in New Jersey makes this mall, along with nearby Menlo Park Mall in Edison, a popular choice for New York shoppers. The mall has gross leasable area (GLA) of 1,633,000 square feet (151,700 m2), making it the third largest of all shopping malls in New Jersey, behind Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, and Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township. It is the 34th largest in the United States.
SeaQuest Interactive Aquariums is set to open in the center in 2019, while Lord & Taylor has filed plans with the state indicating that it is set to close the store in December 2019. Sears closed later in January 2020.
Mall history
The mall was developed by the Rouse Company and opened in 1971 with Abraham & Straus, Ohrbach's, and Stern's. In 1978, the mall was expanded with a new wing to include Hahne's. In 1981. J. C. Penney moved from the nearby Menlo Park Mall in Edison, New Jersey. By 1987, the mall got a fresh new look through renovation. The stairwell in the A&S wing next to center court was removed, new flooring was added, new lighting was added, the mall entrances were redone, and the fountains in front of A&S were either changed (the 2nd floor fountain) or removed (the first floor fountains). The Mall's current fountain is on the 1st floor outside of Sears and Red Robin. In 2003, the mall was expanded with a new 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) Galyan's, the chain's first location in New Jersey, which become Dick's Sporting Goods in 2004. Notable department stores that have closed include Hahne's (became Fortunoff now Boscov's), Ohrbach's (which became Steinbach and later Lord & Taylor, now closed), Stern's (now Macy's), and A&S (later Sears, now closed).
In October 2007, the carousel ride was relocated near the J. C. Penney. The train ride was also reconfigured to ensure both rides stay together at the same location. A toddler's play area, "Tiny Town", is located near the carousel and train rides.
On November 14, 2017, Dave & Buster's opened on the upper level by Sears, their first location in New Jersey.
On October 15, 2019, it was announced that Lord & Taylor would be closing on December 24, 2019.
On February 4, 2020, it was announced that Sears would also be closing as part of a plan to close 31 stores nationwide. The store closed on Saturday, April 11, 2020.
