| Location | Rockaway, NJ 07866 |
|---|---|
| Opening date | September 1977 |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| No. of stores and services | 180+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4: JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's and Sears |
| Total retail floor area | 1,249,000 square feet (116,000 m²) |
| Parking | Lighted Lot |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website | Rockaway Townsquare |
Rockaway Townsquare (commonly referred to as Rockaway Mall or Rockaway Townsquare Mall) is a high-end super-regional shopping mall that is located at Interstate 80 and Mount Hope Avenue in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. The mall features more than 180 specialty stores such as Aeropostale, Apple, Bare Escentuals, GUESS?, Ann Taylor, Brookstone, Caché, Coach, Eddie Bauer, GAP, Godiva as well as a food court located on the upper level near Sears. The mall is anchored by Macy's, Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, & Sears as well as being currently owned by the Simon Property Group. It features a gross leasable area of 1,249,000 sq ft (116,000 m2),[1] placing it in the top ten among the largest shopping malls in New Jersey.
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Description
Rockaway Townsquare is located at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Mount Hope Ave. at exits 35 east and west. It serves as Morris County’s only super-regional mall, also serving Sussex and Warren Counties and Northeastern Pennsylvania. A multimillion-dollar renovation was recently completed and included many upgrades and amenities as well as a completely remodeled Food Court.The mall includes 180 specialty stores including Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor, Apple, Bare Escentuals, Brookstone, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Caché, The Children’s Place, Coach, The Disney Store, Express, Forever 21, Francesca’s Collections, GapKids, Godiva Chocolatier, GUESS?, Gymboree, H&M, Helzberg Diamonds, Hollister Co., J.Crew, Le Gourmet Chef, Pandora, Swarovski, Tilly’s, Vans and anchors JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, & Sears. The mall also contains one casual restaurant, Red Robin. Red Robin officially opened on the 22 of November in 2010. Approximately 40 boutiques or so are located at Rockaway Townsquare. The mall also features a children's play area on the lower level, just outside of JCPenney. The public restrooms outside of JCPenney are also fairly new, and offer two vending machines, as well as two comfy orange armchairs in which to relax while waiting for your friend or partner to be done using the facilities.
Retailers
Rockaway Townsquare has a variety of stores covering two floors inside the mall as well as the three separate out parcels located on the square. The Rockaway Town Plaza, Rockaway Town Court, in addition to the Rockaway Commons. The Townsquare features a wide variety stores as well as the mall itself which features up to 180 specialty stores. The mall features anchors Macy's, Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, and Sears. The mall has a selective number of stores for everyone. The mall features a notorious diversity of shops and retailers with some basics as well as some of the most elite stores found in any shopping mall. Since Simon took ownership of the mall it has opened a more upscale selection of shops such as J. Crew & Apple among others. By having a more upscale selection of stores in the mall it has allowed Lord & Taylor to better position itself due to the fact that its one of the most upscale American department stores. Also located inside of JCPenney there is a Sephora store located on the lower level of the store. The food court is known as Foodworks and contains a Nathan's Famous/Arthur Treacher's/GreatWraps, Wendy's, Popeye's, Subway, and Cinnabon among others. The food court is located on the second floor just outside of Sears.
Mall history
The mall first opened on Labor Day Weekend of 1977. It was built on top of a wetland, which was not protected in New Jersey until 1988 with the passage of the New Jersey Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act, and the former Dover city landfill. A glass elevator was added to center court in the 1990s. In 1999, the mall was purchased by Simon Property Group. With this ownership Simon felt that this local area was growing vastly and felt it needed to open a more upscale selection of retailers. From the start upscale retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Ann Taylor joined the mall in 1999. A substantial number of other fine retailers went on to open later in time. Notable stores that have since closed include: Hahne's which was in the location currently occupied by Lord & Taylor, Child World which is now vacant though was occupied by Office Depot. AMC Theatres had screens 1-6 in the location currently occupied by Forever 21 (Previously F.Y.E.) located inside the mall as well as screens 7-12 in the location currently occupied by Best Buy in one of the many strip malls located on the perimeter road. The 1-6 screens closed in 1998 and the 7-12 screens in 2002. At the time when the theaters were open, it was the first multiplex in America.[2]
On August 25, 2009, a small plane crash-landed in the parking lot. The only injury was the pilot, who walked away and was treated.[3]
On February 20, 2010, a grease oven fire broke out at a McDonald's inside the mall, causing a brief evacuation of the mall until the fire was put out. The McDonald's is now closed.[4]
Anchors
Former Anchors
- Bamberger's (opened in 1977, became Macy's in 1986)
- Hahne's (opened in 1977, became Lord & Taylor in 1989)
Coming Soon
- The Limited Due to reopen in April 2012
- Chipotle Mexican Grill
- Best Buy Mobile
- Dress Barn
The Townsquare
Rockaway Town Plaza
- AMC Theatres
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Panera Bread
- PetsMart
- Pier 1 Imports
- Qdoba Mexican Grill
- Sally Beauty Supply
- Starbucks
- Target
- T-Mobile
- Ulta
Rockaway Town Court
- Borders (closed)
- Christmas Tree Shops
- Michaels
Rockaway Commons/Rockaway Convenience Center
- Best Buy
- Toys R Us
Expansion and Future Plans
The mall has undergone several expansions since it opened. These include a strip mall in the southeast corner of the property currently anchored by Best Buy, and previously occupied by Acme Markets (closed in 2010), Rite Aid (closed in October 2011), and Office Depot (now closed). A Hilton Garden Inn was opened next to an office building that is currently occupied by BASF. A row of three stores (Linens 'n Things (now a Christmas Tree Shops), Michaels, and Borders (now vacant) was opened next to that. The west end of the property, called Rockaway Plaza, is now occupied by Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Pier 1 Imports, PetSmart and a new 16 screen AMC Theatres (not connected to the original 12 [later 6] screens), from which one of its screens became a digital IMAX screen.[citation needed] The Shops at Rockaway Mall, a strip mall developed by Transmark Company, also opened in the corner near Route 80 and features Dunkin' Donuts (one used to exist in the mall next to the food court), Fatburger, Cold Stone Creamery, Quizno's, La Salsa and Supercuts along with a separate Olive Garden.[5] Plans include a Banana Republic, and an Old Navy, and others but none has been built since the 2005 proposal. Recently, a Nori Sushi opened where the former Maui Wowi was located in the food court. Around the mall, the HDTVs located throughout the lobby of the mall now show updated news stories and events at the mall. In the renovated food court, there is a Charley's restaurant that serves subs. Right next to the entrance to Macy's a pub by the name of Muldoon's Steakhouse and Pub recently opened. At Rockaway Townsquare there have been plans made about opening a new Nordstrom department store though nothing is yet to be done since this proposal a few years back. Only time will tell if one will ever open.
2007-2008 Renovations
In 2007 and 2008 renovations were made to both its interior and exterior the mall. The renovations included updated flooring (carpeted upper level, ceramic tile on central portion of lower level, carpeted lower level near department stores, as well as a marble-floored center court), a remodeled and modernized food court that includes new ceilings, a rounded appearance and banquette seating, repainted ceilings in earth tones and new lighting. The mall entrances are still under renovation and the parking lot will receive new lighting. This is the malls 2nd renovation (the first taking place in 1995), which was finished just in time for the mall's grand reopening the weekend of November 21, 2008.
Transportation
The mall is served by several bus routes:
| Route | Western Endpoint | Eastern Endpoint | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 880 | Terminal | Morristown | NJ Transit |
| 46 (off-peak hours only) | Terminal | Port Authority Bus Terminal | Lakeland Bus Lines |
| 80B | Budd Lake | PABT | Lakeland |
| 80H | Howard Boulevard | PABT/Midtown Manhattan/Wall Street | Lakeland |
| 80N | Newton | PABT | Lakeland |
| 80S | Sparta | PABT | Lakeland |
Rail proposals
The mall has been included in many rail proposals to relieve traffic on Interstate 80. However, traffic has become increasingly worse and backups are common as far as Netcong.
If a rail station had been built when the mall was constructed, it probably would have sat unused until 1982 when the Comet II passenger cars arrived as any electrification would have been to the current that was going to be used on the Morris & Essex Lines and wasn't placed in service along with the Arrow III MUs until 1984.
The Comet I cars were equipped with low-doors and since most trains might have been sent via the Morristown Line providing for management concerns about diesel noise and exhaust from the U34CH locomotives near the mall.
References
- ^ "Rockaway Townsquare". Simon Property Group, Inc.. http://www.simon.com/about_simon/leasing/LocalMall.aspx?id=116. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
- ^ AT THE MOVIES; How Resnais made a success with science. - New York Times
- ^ "Virginia girl found eating herself in cage in mobile home; parents Brian and Shannon Gore charged". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/25/2009-08-25_small_plane_crashlands_in_new_jersey_mall_parking_lot.html.
- ^ http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100220/UPDATES01/100220068/Rockaway-Townsquare-mall-reopens-after-fire-at-McDonald%5C-s
- ^ Rockaway mall plans expansions, additions: Loews 16-screen movie theater, Olive Garden among new businesses, Daily Record, January 23, 2005
External links
- Official Homepage
- The Shops at Rockaway Mall
- International Council of Shopping Centers: Rockaway Townsquare Mall[dead link]
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