Fashion District Philadelphia

Fashion District Philadelphia is a shopping mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, located in Center City along Market Street. It opened in 2019 on the site of a previous mall known as The Gallery and later renamed The Gallery at Market East.

Fashion District Philadelphia
Fashion District Philadelphia entrance at 9th and Market streets
LocationPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Address9th & Market streets
Opening dateSeptember 19, 2019 (2019-09-19)[1] (as Fashion District)
1977 (as The Gallery)
ManagementMacerich
OwnerPennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Macerich
No. of stores and services55 (130+ at peak)
No. of anchor tenants4
Total retail floor area1,080,002 sq ft (100,335.5 m2)[1]
No. of floors4, including basement level
Parking2 parking garages
Public transit access 8th Street:
  Broad Street Line Ridge Spur
  PATCO Speedline
  Market–Frankford Line
11th Street:
  Market–Frankford Line
Jefferson Station: SEPTA Regional Rail
Bus transport SEPTA bus: 17, 23, 33, 38, 44, 45, 47, 47m, 48, 61, 62, 78
Bus transport NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 400, 401, 402, 404, 406, 410, 412, 414, 417, 551, 555
Websitefashiondistrictphiladelphia.com
galleryatmarketeast.com (2014 archive)

The mall was envisioned to fill that "void" that even smaller cities have, to sell items to the Center City market that had previously only been available elsewhere. [2] The Fashion District Philadelphia currently has Burlington, Primark, AMC Theatres, and Round One Entertainment as anchors.

History
Fashion District Philadelphia near 10th Street entrance

Prior to the Fashion District Philadelphia, the space originally opened in 1977 as The Gallery. It was later expanded with the construction of The Gallery II in the early 1980s. The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) acquired The Gallery in April 2003 from The Rouse Company and Gallery II in the third fiscal quarter of 2004 from the state's Public School Employees' Retirement System. The total complex measures approximately 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of retail space and at its peak had over 130 stores.

The space was originally anchored by Strawbridge & Clothier department store at 8th Street and Gimbels department store at 9th Street.

It later became part of the entrance to access SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines with the opening of the Market East Station, later rebranded for Jefferson University as Jefferson Station. The mall also provided access to the underground Concourse that connects to the Market-Frankford Line, PATCO Speedline to New Jersey, Broad Street Subway Line, the SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines, and others.

In September 2008, the developers of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia changed their proposed casino location to The Gallery at Market East after receiving opposition from residents near the original proposed site in South Philadelphia. The new proposal was endorsed by both Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Ed Rendell. The original proposal for the Foxwoods Casino at The Gallery at Market East was for a 3,000-slot-machine casino on two floors that were occupied by Burlington Department Store (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) which would have necessitated moving the store. However, on February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers had instead decided to locate their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's building.[3]

In January 2014, it was announced that Kmart would be closing its Gallery store in late April.[4] At the time, it was announced that there were plans to turn the former Kmart space into multiple street-facing stores centered on an atrium, and to redevelop the mostly vacant top level of the mall in other ways.[5] In April 2014 Century 21 Clothing announced that it would open an anchor store at the mall, which has since closed.[6] In July 2014, Macerich acquired a 50% stake in The Gallery at Market East and invested $106.8 million to redevelop the mall as part of a joint venture partnership with PREIT.[7][8]

As of June 19, 2015, the $325 million remodeling of "The Gallery" had been officially approved by the city council, and the legislation had been approved by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. Demolition started in August 2015, with construction expected to last two years and a grand opening sometime in 2017.[9] According to the website for the Fashions Outlets of Philadelphia, the Burlington and Century 21 anchor stores would remain open during reconstruction.

In August 2017, the developers announced that outlets plan has been abandoned and the mall would instead feature a mix of retail, entertainment, and dining venues, much to that of a traditional shopping mall. The mall would effectively be renamed Fashion District Philadelphia. It was initially slated to reopen in the spring of 2018.[10] However, the decision to move Burlington and add an AMC Theatres multiplex led PREIT to delay opening most of the revamped complex until 2019.[11]

The grand opening for Fashion District Philadelphia took place on September 19, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held.[12] The AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8 dine-in movie theater opened on November 4, 2019. The opening of this movie theater marked the first time since 2002 that Center City Philadelphia had a multi-screen movie theater; Philadelphia had previously been the only major city in the United States without a multi-screen movie theater in the downtown area.[13][14] On December 21, 2019, a Round One Entertainment bowling and entertainment center opened at Fashion District Philadelphia.[15]

In October 2019, it was announced that Primark would open a 34,200-square-foot (3,180 m2) store at Fashion District Philadelphia at the corner of 11th and Market streets.[16] The store opened on September 16, 2021.[17][18] Century 21 closed in 2020 as a result of the chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all stores.[19][20]

After PREIT filed for bankruptcy in 2020, PREIT relinquished its primary control of Fashion District Philadelphia on January 1, 2021, with Macerich taking over management of the mall. Macerich made a $100 million payment on a $301 million loan backed by Fashion District Philadelphia.[21]

On December 16, 2021, a Giant Heirloom Market grocery store opened in the ground level of the former Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street.[22]

On July 21, 2022, the Philadelphia 76ers, the city's NBA franchise, announced its plans to build a new arena, 76 Place at Market East, on part of the site, costing at least $1.3 billion.[23]

On April 17, 2023, Fashion District Philadelphia implemented a curfew for people under the age of 18 after 2:00 pm, in which they must be accompanied by a person over the age of 23. This curfew was implemented as a response to disturbances caused by crowds of teenagers in the mall.[24]

Transit connections
Entrance to Jefferson Station from Fashion District Philadelphia

The following rail stations are connected to Fashion District Philadelphia

Besides the SEPTA rail connections, various SEPTA city bus routes and NJ Transit bus routes have stops next to Fashion District Philadelphia.

Anchors

Former anchors
  • Strawbridge's
  • Gimbels (1977-1986)
  • JCPenney (1983-2001)
  • Kmart (closed 2014)
  • Century 21 (closed 2020)

References
  1. "The Gallery at Market East Property Overview". PREIT. Archived from the original on 2011-08-09. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  2. "Fashion District Philadelphia adds to the mix".
  3. Lin, Jennifer (February 26, 2009). "Another casino shift possible in Phila". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  4. Van Allen, Peter (January 23, 2014). "Kmart Closing 2 Philly Stores; 289 Workers Affected". Philadelphia, PA: WCAU-TV. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  5. Saffron, Inga (May 3, 2014). "Changing Skyline: Bringing more life to the Gallery". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  6. Hepp, Chris (April 25, 2014). "Discount-apparel retailer Century 21 coming to the Gallery". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  7. DiStefano, Joseph N. (July 31, 2014). "Mall developer Macerich Co. to invest $106.8M in Gallery revival effort". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  8. Russ, Valerie (22 January 2015). "Gallery Mall stores close for planned renovations". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  9. Carrion, Angelly (June 19, 2015). "The Gallery Redevelopment Is Officially a Go". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  10. Adelman, Jacob (August 16, 2017). "Outlets are out, H&M and movies are in, as Gallery redevelopers retool". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  11. Suzette Parmley (December 7, 2017). "Fashion District Philadelphia's opening is delayed until November 2018, PREIT CEO says". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  12. Scott, Katherine (September 19, 2019). "Fashion District Philadelphia opens in Center City". Philadelphia, PA: WPVI-TV. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  13. Staff (November 4, 2019). "Dine-in theatre opens Monday at Philadelphia's Fashion District". Philadelphia, PA: WTXF-TV. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  14. Silver, Stephen (October 30, 2019). "Philly's Fashion District is ready for its big-screen debut with new movie theater opening Monday". PhillyVoice. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  15. Cummings, Sinead (December 18, 2019). "Round1 with bowling, arcade games opening at Fashion District Philadelphia". PhillyVoice. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  16. Cummings, Sinead (October 29, 2019). "Primark is opening in Fashion District Philadelphia". PhillyVoice. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  17. Arvedlund, Erin (September 1, 2021). "Primark opening in Center City on Sept. 16". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  18. Vitarelli, Alicia (September 16, 2021). "Irish retailer Primark opens at Fashion District Philadelphia in Center City". Philadelphia, PA: WPVI-TV. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  19. Fickenscher, Lisa (2020-09-10). "Fashion retailer Century 21 files for bankruptcy, to shut all stores". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  20. Department Store Century 21 Files Bankruptcy, Will Shut Down Bloomberg. 10 September 2020.
  21. "PREIT to Relinquish Primary Control of Fashion District Under Bankruptcy Deal". Philadelphia, PA: WCAU-TV. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  22. Tanenbaum, Michael (December 16, 2021). "Giant opens Heirloom Market in Center City's Fashion District". PhillyVoice. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  23. DiStefano, Joseph N. (July 21, 2022). "The Sixers want to build a new $1.3 billion arena in Center City". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  24. Kent, Maggie; Staff (April 17, 2023). "The Fashion District in Center City imposes afternoon curfew for people under 18". Philadelphia, PA: WPVI-TV. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
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