Westfield Garden State Plaza is a two-story, upscale shopping mall located in Paramus, New Jersey, owned and managed by the Westfield Corporation, and located at the intersection of Route 4 and Route 17 near the Garden State Parkway, about 15 miles west of Manhattan. With 2,118,718 sq ft (196,835.3 m2) of leasable space, and housing over 300 stores, it is the largest mall in New Jersey, the third-largest mall in the New York metropolitan area, and one of the highest-revenue producing malls in the United States. Its department store anchors are J.C. Penney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. It was the first large scale shopping mall in New Jersey.
The mall had sales of $500 per square foot in 2013, about $320 above the national average; Garden State Plaza is one of the most profitable malls in the country.
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History
Garden State Plaza was built in 1957 by the Muscarelle Construction Company for owner/developer R.H. Macy & Co. as an open-air shopping "plaza".
The original anchor was Bamberger's (owned by R.H. Macy since 1929). Gimbels and J.C. Penney were added in 1958. Total construction costs were $26 million in 1957 for the mall and its original group of 90 stores.
Garden State Plaza drew much business from nearby New York towns and cities, whose shoppers wandered across state lines to take advantage of New Jersey's lower sales taxes and its policy that exempted clothing purchases from sales tax. By 1961, it was the world's largest mall.
The mall was enclosed between 1981 and 1984 in response to competitive pressure from newer fully enclosed malls such as the Willowbrook Mall in nearby Wayne. Later in the 1980s, a lower level was added by converting a former basement truck tunnel into retail space. The existing J.C.Penney basement was given a new entrance on the lower level, but since the floors were at slightly different elevations, that entrance features the shortest escalator in North America, at a height of six steps.
In 1987, Gimbel's parent company, BATUS, which had been selling off its Gimbel's stores, sold its Garden State Plaza location to Associated Dry Goods. Associated reopened the store as the new headquarters for its Hahne's department stores. Hahne's had previously been headquartered at its flagship store in downtown Newark, NJ, which the company wanted to close. Two years later, a Nobody Beats the Wiz store was added to the mall site (now Best Buy).
On September 7, 1990, Nordstrom opened its first New Jersey location, building a $37 million, 272,000 sq ft (25,300 m2)., three-level store on the former Hahne's site. In 1996, Lord & Taylor opened a store in the mall; its seventh in the state at the time.
In 1996, Garden State Plaza marked the completion of a $200 million expansion and major remodeling project that added over 700,000 sq ft (65,000 m2) of retail space and two four level parking structures, Parking Garage A, and Parking Garage B. The downstairs food court was connected to the lower level from the previous expansion. J.C.Penney grew by 62,000 to 150,000 sq ft (5,800 to 13,900 m2), and two new anchors were added, a 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) Neiman Marcus on three levels and a 135,000 sq ft (12,500 m2) Lord & Taylor on two levels, both targeted at the upscale fashion-conscious shopper. A Venetian Carousel was also added at that time of the expansion and remodeling and was located in front of Macy's. The carousel closed in 2016 and was removed so that the mall could use that space for The Bergen Performing Arts Center to give performances and shows. There was also a Bergen PAC ticket center located nearby as well. The performance area, was short lived and was replaced by a video game theater before converting into a lounge area in 2017.
Westfield acquired the mall in 1986 from Macy's in a deal that also included New Jersey's Brunswick Square Mall and Quaker Bridge Mall.
The Borough of Paramus petitioned the New Jersey Supreme Court to review a decision by borough's Planning Board, asking it to review the plans to construct a 163,000-square-foot (15,100 m2) "entertainment lifestyle precinct" at the mall that includes a 16-screen AMC movie theater and 10 specialty retail stores, along with a 158,000-square-foot (14,700 m2) parking lot below the new wing, known as "Parking Garage C". The petition was turned down, and the mall celebrated its 50th Anniversary with the new expansion and stores opened on May 25, 2007. Other than the AMC, some of the stores and restaurants that are in the expanded wing are Grand Lux Cafe, Jamba Juice, a Sprint store, and Vans.
In 2013, the mall rebuilt the east parking garage, expanding it to five levels and 1,800 parking spaces. Adjacent were built a new guest services office and a valet lounge. A year later, the mall added a 55,000 square foot wing at a cost of $160 million known as the "Fashion District" that has 22 stores and restaurants. Tenants in the Fashion District include Microsoft Store, Michael Kors, LUSH, Armani Exchange, Au Bon Pain, and Urban Outfitters.
Blue laws
Due to highly restrictive blue laws in effect in Bergen County and more restrictive limitations in place in Paramus, Garden State Plaza is completely closed on Sundays, except for some of the restaurants and the movie theater, all of which have special Sunday entrances. Garden State Plaza's parking lot is accessible, on Sundays, only from the Route 4 and Route 17 access points. Gates are down so that the access roads from the secondary streets are blocked. The Paramus Borough Code forbids the performance of any "worldly employment" on Sunday, with very limited exceptions. These laws were enacted shortly after Garden State Plaza opened out of fear that the mall would cause high levels of congestion in the borough. Governor Chris Christie was unsuccessful in removing the blue laws in 2010 which would have opened the mall on Sundays and brought extra sales and tax revenue. During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, he suspended the blue law forcing it to be open on Sunday, November 4, 2012 for those severely affected by the hurricane. A week later, the blue laws were put back into effect.
Anchors
- JC Penney
- Lord & Taylor
- Macy's
- Neiman Marcus
- Nordstrom
Restaurants
Restaurants in Bold mean that they are open on Sundays.
Full service
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Chili's
- Grand Lux Cafe
- Johnny Rockets
- Legal Sea Foods
- Neiman Marcus - The Rotunda
- On the Border
- Ruby Tuesday
- The Capital Grille
- Zinburger Wine and Burger Bar
Quick service
- Aroma Espresso Bar
- Chipotle
- McDonald's
- Nordstrom E-Bar
- Shake Shack
Food Court
- Baskin Robbins
- Bourbon Street Grille
- Charley's Grilled Subs
- Chick-fil-A
- Dunkin' Donuts
- Green Leaf's
- KFC Express
- MW's Hawaiian Grill
- Ruby Thai
- Sarku Japan
- Sushi Bar by Sarku Japan
- Taco Bell
- Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen
Drinks & Snacks
- Bell The Ice Cream Truck
- Cafrea
- Fresh U Grill & Juice Bar
- Godiva Chocolatier
- Jamba Juice
- Starbucks
- Wetzel's Pretzels
Coming soon
- Bar Louie
- Mighty Quinn's Barbecue
- Delaney Chicken
Public transportation
Westfield Garden State Plaza is served by New Jersey Transit bus lines routes 163, 171, 175, 707, 709, 756, 758 and 770.
Incidents
On November 4, 2013, 20-year-old Richard Shoop fired multiple shots in the mall. Customers and employees were evacuated immediately from the mall premises shortly after the shots fired and the mall was on lockdown for hours. No one was injured or killed. The day after the shooting at 3:20 AM, Shoop committed suicide.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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