Freehold Raceway Mall

Freehold Raceway Mall is a super-regional high-end shopping mall located in Freehold Township, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of 2020, it was the largest shopping mall in Central Jersey and the state's third largest shopping mall, behind Garden State Plaza in Paramus, and American Dream Meadowlands in East Rutherford.[2] It is located off of U.S. Route 9, Route 33 Business, and County Route 537, opposite the Freehold Raceway.

Freehold Raceway Mall
Entrance at the outdoor lifestyle center
LocationFreehold, New Jersey
Coordinates40.2521°N 74.2946°W / 40.2521; -74.2946
Opening dateAugust 1, 1990 (August 1, 1990)
DeveloperWilmorite
ManagementMacerich
OwnerMacerich and Heitman
No. of stores and services237
No. of anchor tenants7 (5 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,553,000 square feet (144,300 m2)[1]
No. of floors2 (3 in Macy's)
ParkingParking lot
Public transit accessBus transport NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 67, 836, 838
Websitefreeholdracewaymall.com

The mall is anchored by Macy's, JCPenney, L.L. Bean, Primark, and Bob's Stores.

Overview
Freehold Raceway Mall logo

The mall is owned and managed by The Macerich Company, having purchased the mall from developer Wilmorite in 2005, and has a 1,671,000 sq ft (155,200 m2) of total gross leasable area,[3] making it the third largest shopping mall in New Jersey. An outdoor lifestyle addition, begun in January 2007, added 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of additional retail space.

On November 23, 2011, the mall was ranked in a Weather Channel news article titled "The Most Congested Malls for Black Friday". Freehold Raceway Mall ranked third in the nation.[4]

History

Construction on Freehold Raceway Mall commenced in 1987,[5] across the street from the Freehold Raceway on land used for stables. The stables still exist, connected by a small pedestrian/horsecart bridge over Route 9, but they can only be accessed via mall entrance road. In preparation for the mall's opening, the Freehold Circle was eliminated and rebuilt into an at-grade intersection with traffic lights and jughandles. A traffic light and jughandle for the mall entrance road from Route 9 was also constructed due south of the intersection of U.S. Route 9 and Business Route 33.

1990–2007

The mall officially opened on August 1, 1990; the public opening was preceded by a private "preview" gala and fundraiser for CentraState Medical Center which included papier-mâché racehorse centerpieces and a fabric replica of the food court's carousel, which had not yet arrived from Italy.[6] The mall originally had two anchors: Sears and Lord & Taylor with construction already underway on JCPenney (originally planned to be Hahne's, but the company was merged into Lord & Taylor), which later opened in 1991 as well as Nordstrom, which later opened in 1992.[7] A fifth anchor, Macy's, was opened on October 7, 1998.[8] The mall was not initially successful. Vacancies were imminent, and many of the spaces were filled with non-traditional mall tenants, such as municipal services. Local photography clubs displayed their photos on the mall's empty walls, while other areas sported photos of the raceway and the fire that occurred in 1984.

Retro photos of how the Freehold Raceway Mall appeared during the 1990s and early-mid 2000s.

The only evidence of the mall from Route 9 was the monument sign approaching the mall entrance, as the satellite big box stores were not yet built. Customers could also easily travel to the nearby Monmouth Mall, Seaview Square Mall, Brunswick Square Mall, or the Manalapan Mall. When Nordstrom opened the Freehold Raceway Mall had the only location in a 30 miles (48 km) radius. The crowds eventually came and the vacancy rate at the mall significantly dropped. The success of the Freehold Raceway Mall in the 1990s and early 2000s ultimately led to the downfall of the nearby Manalapan Mall, which closed in 1999 (which redeveloped into the Manalapan EpiCentre), along with the Seaview Square Mall (which redeveloped into a power center.).

2007–2020
Freehold Raceway Mall entrance featuring original tenant Nordstrom seen from the 2007 lifestyle center addition

Freehold Raceway Mall was expanded in 2007, and construction began in January. The expansion was built in the space between JCPenney and Sears in the upper floor parking lot. The addition included a strip of outdoor stores along the JCPenney side of the mall, occupied by 13 to 15 stores, two restaurants, a promenade, an area for community events and a valet parking station.

In April 2007, the mall's first renovation project was underway. The renovation replaced the flooring, changing the brown and green tile to a beige stone tile, it replaced the green paint on the ceilings and ironwork with a more beige/earthtone, the brass rails were replaced in favor of wooden rails, new lighting under the skylights and along/under the columns was added, the globe lighting along the skylights, pillars and ironwork was replaced, a new escalator next to Sears was added, soft, carpeted seating areas were added and the large center court fountain was replaced with a smaller fountain, and a soft seating area.[9] New additions include single- and two-story retail spaces, and two new parking lots which were built on site to replace those that were lost. They are located along the Raceway Mall Drive entrance and on the opposite side of the ring road next to Nordstrom.

The Freehold Raceway Mall under renovation in Summer 2007.
Foot traffic at Freehold Raceway Mall on a weekday afternoon, October 2019
The Center Court post-renovation, January 2009

On July 18, 2011, Borders Books & Music announced that they will be liquidating all of their stores, including their Freehold location.[10] In September 2013, L.L.Bean opened their third New Jersey location inside the former Borders Books & Music anchor. They hosted a grand opening festival including giveaways, contests, and also a Birds of Prey exhibit as well.[11][12] On July 16, 2016, Primark joined the shopping center.[13]

2020–present

The dawn of the 2020s saw several storied traditional department store retailers update its brick-and-mortar formats after being encroached upon to a degree by several digital retailers in recent years in addition to the COVID pandemic.

In May 2020, Nordstrom, which also maintains several outposts nearby, announced plans to shutter along with several additional locations as a direct result of pulling back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

In August 2020, it was announced that specialty department store retailer Lord & Taylor would shutter its traditional brick and mortar format as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][16]

By October 2022, after the government lockdown, Freehold Raceway Mall announced several additions, among them are Offline by Aerie, Elite Jewelers, Torrid, LoveSac, Lovisa, in addition to new formats for Aldo, Pandora, and a new much larger Apple format. As of 2023, a new Lidl occupies an outparcel space while a new Bob's Stores opened as an attached fixture at the mall next to Primark.[17][18][19][20][21]

On May 19, 2023, Apple relocated to the new location on the same story of the mall.[22]

Freehold Raceway Mall center court, 2021

In May 2021, the Freehold Township Planning Committee proposed a rezoning ordinance to the shopping centers in the township, the Freehold Raceway Mall property notwithstanding. The township's Business Administrator Peter Valesi, expressed the interest to enhance the township's shopping centers.[23] On July 13, 2021, the township planning board approved the amendment in a 3-1 decision. This legislation redefines the "regional mall" as a "regional mall shopping center".[24]

The expansion of zoning allowances grants the owners of the mall the ability to include more commercial amenities, such as; movie theaters, performing arts venues, indoor amusement parks, roller rinks and other assortment of recreational activities.[25] The rezoning could also allow the mall to offer designated civic, cultural and senior citizen centers, as well as educational spaces, office spaces, breweries, and health care facilities.[25]

The rezoning policies will allow the mall to offer more 'lifestyle' amenities, which are becoming more commonplace in other prominent malls in the state (such as what can be found at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne or the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford), while also still preserving the mall's upscale character.[26][27]

Anchors

Current anchors

Former anchors

See also

Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Connecticut - Built by developer Wilmorite a few years before Freehold Raceway Mall and also currently owned by Macerich. Due to both malls being built around the same time in the New York metropolitan area, utilizing similar interior design fixtures, along with both malls residing under relatively similar socioeconomic areas and thus offering similar stores, they are sometimes attributed as retail 'twins'.[28][29]

References
  1. "Macerich | Properties | Freehold Raceway Mall". www.macerich.com. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  2. "The biggest mall in new jersey and here are the top 10", TechRaj, May 6, 2020. Accessed June 5, 2023.
  3. "The biggest mall in new jersey and here are the top 10", posted May 6, 2020. Accessed February 28, 2022.
  4. Breslin, Sean (November 23, 2011). "The Most Congested Malls for Black Friday". The Weather Company. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  5. "Wilmorite : Portforlio Information". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
  6. Henderson, Marguerite (August 1, 1990). "Plenty to ogle at raceway mall preview". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Conroy, William (June 9, 1991). "Despite recession, retailer continues expansion plans". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Serra, Maria Jose (October 8, 1998). "Macy's wins at Raceway". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Rooney, Ben (July 18, 2011). "Borders liquidates: 10,700 jobs lost". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  11. Hochron, Adam (September 19, 2013). "L.L. Bean Grand Opening Celebration This Weekend". Freehold, NJ: Patch. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  12. "At Freehold Raceway Mall". seritage.com.
  13. Willis, David P. (December 11, 2019). "Sears to close Freehold Raceway Mall store; sales start soon". Asbury Park Press. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  14. Alexander, Dan (May 7, 2020). "Nordstrom to close the store at Freehold Raceway Mall". WKXW. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  15. Jordan Valinsky. "Lord & Taylor is closing all of its stores after 194 years in business". CNN. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  16. Willis, David P. (August 27, 2020). "Lord & Taylor closing all stores, including Freehold Raceway Mall location". Asbury Park Press. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  17. Willis, David P., "Bob's Stores coming back to Freehold Raceway Mall, and Lidl bringing grocery too, Asbury Park Press, December 6, 2022. Accessed December 6, 2022.
  18. https://www.app.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.app.com%2Fstory%2Fmoney%2Fbusiness%2Fmain-street%2Fwhats-going-there%2F2021%2F06%2F21%2Ffreehold-raceway-mall-new-zoning-stores%2F7658756002%2F/
  19. https://www.silive.com/business/2023/05/big-changes-coming-to-this-popular-new-jersey-mall.html
  20. https://943thepoint.com/torrid-freehold-raceway-mall/
  21. https://www.freeholdracewaymall.com/Directory
  22. Burch, Christopher."Big changes coming to N.J. mall, including relocation of Apple store", NJ.com, Published: May. 21, 2023, Updated: May. 24, 2023. Accessed October 13, 2023.
  23. Sockol, Matthew. "Freehold Township officials propose permitting new uses at mall", centraljersey.com. June 30, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  24. Sockol, Matthew. "Township Committee revises zoning at Freehold Raceway Mall site", centraljersey.com. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  25. Rosenthal, Nicole. "Freehold Twp Committee Approves Expanded Raceway Mall Uses", Patch. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  26. Sockol, Matthew. "Township Committee revises zoning at Freehold Raceway Mall site", centraljersey.com., July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  27. Burch, Christopher. "Big changes coming to N.J. mall, including relocation of Apple store", nj.com, Published: May 21, 2023, Updated: May 24, 2023. Accessed May 28, 2023.
  28. Langlois, Mark. "Danbury mall sold in $2.33B deal", News-Times, December 24, 2004. Accessed April 3, 2022.
  29. "Freehold Raceway Mall; Freehold, New Jersey", Labelscar: The Retail History Blog, December 14, 2006. Accessed April 3, 2022.
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