Wikipedia

Willow Grove Park Mall

Willow Grove Park Mallis a three-storyshopping malllocated in the community ofWillow GroveinAbington Township, Pennsylvaniaat the intersection of Easton Road and Moreland Road (Pennsylvania Route 63) in thePhiladelphiasuburbs. The Willow Grove Park Mall contains over 120 stores - withBloomingdale's,Primark,Macy's,Nordstrom Rack,andTilted 10asanchor stores- along with several restaurants includingThe Cheesecake Factory,TGI Fridays,andYard House.It is owned byPREITand is the third most profitable mall in theDelaware Valley.The mall features acarousel,scenicelevator,and formerly featured afountain(since removed). In October, the fountain was illuminated pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Willow Grove Park Mall
The third-floor carousel entrance of the Willow Grove Park Mall, 2016
Map
LocationWillow Grove, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°08′25″N75°07′24″W/ 40.1402°N 75.1234°W/40.1402; -75.1234
Address2500Moreland Road
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania,19090, U.S.
Opening dateAugust 11, 1982(1982-08-11)[1]
DeveloperFederated Department Storesand The Rubin Organization
ManagementPREIT
OwnerPREIT
ArchitectRTKL
No. of stores and services120+
No. ofanchor tenants6 (5 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,203,423 square feet (111,802 m2)[2]
No. of floors3 (1 in Nordstrom Rack and former Sears, 2 in Primark, Forever 21, and Tilted 10)
ParkingParking lot,parking garage
Public transit accessBus transportSEPTAbus:22,55,95,310,311[3]
Websitewillowgroveparkmall.comEdit this at Wikidata

Location

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The Willow Grove Park Mall is located on the site of the previous Willow Grove Amusement Park in thecensus-designated placeofWillow GroveinAbington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,15 miles (24 km) north ofCenter City Philadelphiain the northern suburbs of the city. The mall is bordered byPennsylvania Route 63(Moreland Road) to the northeast, Easton Road to the southeast, and Old Welsh Road to the southwest.[4]The mall is located nearPennsylvania Route 611and is a little more than a mile from the Willow Grove exit of thePennsylvania Turnpike.[5]The Willow Grove Park Mall serves as a transit hub forSEPTAbus routes22,55,95,310,and311.The mall is also near theWillow Grove stationon theWarminster LineofSEPTA Regional Rail.[6]The Willow Grove Park Mall has a market area that covers easternMontgomery Countyalong withNorthwest Philadelphia,North Philadelphia,Northeast Philadelphia,and portions of centralBucks County.[5]

Stores

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A view of the mall from the third floor near The Grove food court in 2008

The Willow Grove Park Mall currently contains fiveanchor stores.Bloomingdale's,which is 237,537 square feet (22,068 m2), opened in 1982 when the mall was built.[2][7]The Bloomingdale's store is one of two located in the Philadelphia area.[5]Macy's,which is 225,000 square feet (20,903 m2), opened in 2001 as part of a mall expansion.[2]An anchor space opened in 1982 asB. Altman and Companybefore becomingSearsin 1987.[2][7]In 2015, Sears reduced its space from 175,584 square feet (16,312 m2) to 96,000 square feet (8,919 m2) on the first floor while leasing 77,500 square feet (7,200 m2) of space toPrimark,mainly on the second floor.[8]Sears closed its store at Willow Grove Park Mall in 2022.[9]Another anchor space opened in 1982 asAbraham & Strausbefore becomingStrawbridge & Clothier(laterStrawbridge's) in 1988.[7]Strawbridge's closed in 2006. A part of the former space on the third floor reopening asThe Cheesecake Factoryin 2007, which is 10,310 square feet (958 m2) in area.[2][10]Another part of the former Strawbridge's became a 7,500 square feet (697 m2)Bravo! Cucina Italianathat opened in 2011; Bravo! Cucina Italiana later closed and the space becameYard Housein 2019.[11][12][13]In addition, a relocated two-story 17,000 square feet (1,579 m2)Forever 21opened in a small portion of the former Strawbridge's in December 2011.[11][14][15]The lower two floors of the Strawbridge's space became a 114,000 square feet (10,591 m2)JCPenneystore in 2012.[11][16]JCPenney officials announced that the Willow Grove store will be among 138 locations the company will shutter;[17]the store closed on July 31, 2017.[18]The former JCPenney became aTilted 10entertainment center in 2023.[19][20]The remaining area of the former Strawbridge's on the third floor opened as a 41,000 square feet (3,809 m2)Nordstrom Rackin 2012.[14][21]

In addition to the anchor stores, the Willow Grove Park Mall contains over 130 smaller stores, includingApple Store,a two-storyH&M,Lucky Brand Jeans,Sephora,Victoria's Secret,Build-A-Bear Workshop,Go! Games & Toys,andGameStop.[2][22]The mall also contains afood courtwith eleven spaces as well as three sit-down restaurants:The Cheesecake Factory,TGI Fridays(closed January 2024), andYard House.[2][23][24]

History

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Carousel on the third floor of the mall

The current site of the Willow Grove Park Mall was originallyWillow Grove Park,a popularamusement parkthat existed from 1896 to 1975. In 1978,Federated Department Storesand The Rubin Organization announced plans to build aUS$25 millionmallon the site of the former amusement park. The plans for the mall were approved by Abington Township in 1979, which included a downsizing to threeanchor storesfrom four among concerns from residents about the size of the future mall.[7]The Willow Grove Park Mall opened on August 11, 1982.[1][7]The mall was designed with aVictoriantheme honoring the former amusement park. The developers of the Willow Grove Park Mall were Federated Department Stores and The Rubin Organization and the architect wasRTKL.[25]When the mall opened, the original anchor stores wereBloomingdale's,Abraham & Straus,andB. Altman and Company.[7]Bloomingdale's had relocated to the mall from a freestanding store inJenkintown.[26]When it opened, the Willow Grove Park Mall was intended to be an upscale mall.[27]In 1984, Federated Department Stores sold its share of the mall to theEquitable Life Assurance Society of the United StatesforUS$43 million.[28]In 1986, B. Altman and Company closed its store, which reopened asSearsin 1987.[7][27]Sears relocated to the mall from a store in Abington. Around this time, the store selection at the mall broadened to also target themiddle class.[27]In 1988 Abraham & Straus closed and becameStrawbridge & Clothier,which had relocated to the mall froma store in Jenkintown.[7][29]

Third floor of the mall looking toward Primark

The mall was acquired byPREITand thePennsylvania State Employees' Retirement Systemin 2000 forUS$140 millionfrom a group ofpension fundclients managed by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments.[25]In 2001, the mall underwent a major renovation which included the addition ofMacy'sas an anchor, the construction of a 212,000 square feet (19,695 m2)parking garagewith 800 parking spaces adjacent to Sears and thefood court,and the addition of acarouselat the third-floor entrance opposite the food court.[2][30][31]The renovation of the mall costUS$25 million.[32]PREIT assumed full ownership of the Willow Grove Park Mall in 2003 by acquiring the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System's 70% share of ownership forUS$122.3 million.[30]In 2005, a mosaic wall with images from the former Willow Grove Park was installed in the mall. The mosaics were created by theAbington Art Center's Youth Empowerment Program and the Abington Township Balanced and Restorative Justice Program from designs made by Carol Strinton-Broad.[7]In 2006, Strawbridge's closed due to the acquisition of its parent companyMay Department Storesby Federated Department Stores; a small portion of the former store on the upper floor became home toThe Cheesecake Factoryin September 2007.[10][33]The lower two floors were planned to open asBoscov's;however, it never opened due to the chain filing forChapter 11 bankruptcyin 2008.[10][34]

On July 28, 2011, it was announced thatJCPenneywould open a store on the lower two floors of the vacant Strawbridge's. In addition, it was announced thatBravo! Cucina ItalianaandNordstrom Rackwould open locations on the third floor of the former Strawbridge's.[11]Bravo! Cucina Italiana opened in November 2011 while Nordstrom Rack opened in May 2012.[12][21]Forever 21 also relocated to a larger store at the former Strawbridge's site in December 2011.[11][15]The JCPenney store opened in October 2012.[16]On January 30, 2015, it was announced that Sears would lease some of its space to Irish retailerPrimark.Sears would remain in its space on the first level while Primark will operate in the remainder of the space, mainly on the second level.[8]Primark opened on July 19, 2016.[35]On March 17, 2017, it was announced that the JCPenney store would be closing as part of a plan to close 138 stores nationwide.[36]The JCPenney store closed on July 31, 2017.[18]

AMacy's Backstageoutlet store concept opened within the Macy's store on June 2, 2018.[37]On January 24, 2018, the Abington Township Board of Commissioners approved plans for aStudio Movie Grillin the former JCPenney space. The Studio Movie Grill was to be an 11-screen dine-in movie theater with a bar. Studio Movie Grill was planned to open in early 2020 before plans were cancelled.[23][38]On March 10, 2023, aTilted 10entertainment center opened in the former JCPenney space.[19][20]On December 2, 2019, aYard Houserestaurant opened at the mall in the space formerly occupied by Bravo! Cucina Italiana.[13][23][24]

On January 18, 2022, it was announced that Sears would close in 2022. This was the last full-service Sears location in Pennsylvania.[9]

Incidents

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On November 25, 2006, during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year afterThanksgiving,a small fire broke out in theForever 21store that forced the evacuation of 6,000 shoppers; no injuries were reported.[39][40]

On the evening of June 15, 2011, a 16-year-old boy fromUpper Moreland Townshipwho was smokingsynthetic cannabisjumped from the third level of theparking garage,suffering injuries.[41]

On April 13, 2023, a criminal incident at the mall gained viral attention in which shoplifter Abdi Wasuge attempted to steal products from the Apple Store on the second floor and vaulted over a railing in an attempt to escape authorities following a confrontation with another person, breaking his pelvis and tailbone.[42]

Economic impact

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The Willow Grove Park Mall serves as a major regional attraction for Abington Township and is the third most profitable mall in thePhiladelphia area.In the Pennsylvania part of the Philadelphia area, the Willow Grove Park Mall is the second most profitable mall after theKing of Prussiamall.[43]The mall is regarded as one of three most successful locations for retailers entering the Philadelphia market due to its location and store selection.[5]In 2019, the Willow Grove Park Mall sawsales per square footof $763, which is the highest among all malls owned by PREIT.[44]The mall employed 2,065 people in 2018, making it the third largest employer in Abington Township with 7.86% of the jobs in the township.[45]

The opening of the Willow Grove Park Mall led to the decline of retail along Old York Road in Abington and Jenkintown, with department stores such as Bloomingdale's, Sears, and Strawbridge & Clothier relocating from this area to the mall during the 1980s. ALord & Taylorstore in Jenkintown closed in 1989, but was eventually replaced by the King of Prussia mall location in 1995.[46]

References

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  2. ^abcdefgh"Willow Grove Park Fact Sheet"(PDF).preit.com.PREIT.RetrievedMarch 13,2010.
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  4. ^Montgomery County, Pennsylvania(Map) (18th ed.). 1 "=2000'.ADC Map.2006. p. 3259. § A8.ISBN0-87530-775-2.
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  10. ^abc"Willow Grove Park Cheesecake Factory opens Thursday".Philadelphia Business Journal.September 17, 2007.RetrievedMarch 14,2010.
  11. ^abcde"Nordstrom Rack, jcpenney coming to Willow Grove mall".The Intelligencer.July 28, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon April 1, 2012.RetrievedJuly 29,2011.
  12. ^abDeBree, Crissa Shoemaker (November 8, 2011)."What's new in local business, Nov. 8".The Intelligencer.Archived fromthe originalon April 1, 2012.RetrievedNovember 10,2011.
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