Freehold Raceway Mall

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Freehold Raceway Mall
Freehold Raceway Mall Main Entrance jpg.jpg
Freehold Raceway Mall entrance at the outdoor lifestyle center, April 2021
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
LocationFreehold, New Jersey
Coordinates40°15′08″N 74°17′41″W / 40.2521°N 74.2946°W / 40.2521; -74.2946Coordinates: 40°15′08″N 74°17′41″W / 40.2521°N 74.2946°W / 40.2521; -74.2946
Opening dateAugust 1, 1990; 31 years ago (August 1, 1990)
DeveloperWilmorite
ManagementMacerich
OwnerMacerich and Heitman
No. of stores and services237 (As of 2021)
No. of anchor tenants6 (3 open, 3 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,669,000 square feet (155,055 m2)[1]
No. of floors2 (3 in Macy's and former Nordstrom)
ParkingParking lot
Public transit accessBus transport NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 67, 836, 838
Websitefreeholdracewaymall.com

Freehold Raceway Mall is a super-regional high-end shopping mall, located in Freehold Township, New Jersey. The mall's anchor stores are JCPenney, Macy's, and Primark with three vacant anchors last occupied by Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom and Sears. The mall is owned and managed by The Macerich Company, having purchased the mall from developer Wilmorite in 2005, and has 1,669,000 square feet (155,055 m2) of gross leasable area,[1] making it the third largest shopping mall in New Jersey. An outdoor lifestyle addition, begun in January 2007, added 100,000 square feet (10,000 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.[2]

History[]

Construction on Freehold Raceway Mall commenced in 1987,[3] 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.[citation needed]

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.[4] 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.[5] A fifth anchor, Macy's, was opened on October 7, 1998.[6] 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. However, once Nordstrom opened the Freehold Raceway Mall now had a store that was sure to be a success due to the fact there was not another Nordstrom store around for 30 miles (48 km). The crowds eventually came and the vacancy rate at the mall significantly dropped. The explosive 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.[citation needed]).

2007–2020[]

Freehold Raceway Mall logo
Freehold Raceway Mall entrance featuring the former Nordstrom store that closed on July 31, 2020, 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.[citation needed]

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.[7] 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.[citation needed]

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.[8] 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.[9]

In 2015, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Freehold Raceway Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.[10] Since July 16, 2016, Primark leases the second floor of the Sears building. On December 11, 2019, Sears announced that its store will be closing at the mall in mid-February 2020.[11] The lower level of the space was to be converted into a Round One Entertainment before being cancelled from the township.[12]

2020–present[]

Freehold Raceway Mall has experienced severe losses of business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 7, 2020, it was announced that Nordstrom would be closing down, after being at the mall for 28 years. A petition to save the store and employees' jobs was circulated, which garnished over 10,000 signatures. The store ultimately did have a fixture liquidation sale that went from July 19 to July 29, and the closure was made permanent on July 31 with an expected impact of the loss of 252 jobs.[13] On August 27, 2020, it was announced that Lord & Taylor would be closing all 38 of its stores, including the Freehold Raceway Mall location. The store closed on February 27, 2021. This left JCPenney, Macy's, and Primark as the only anchors left, as of 2021.[14]

On May 25, 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 need to modernize the township's shopping centers.[15] 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”.[16]

Freehold Raceway Mall center court as it appears, Summer 2021
Freehold Raceway Mall center court as it appears in Summer 2021

The expansion of zoning allowances grants the owners of the mall the ability to potentially include more commercial amenities, such as; movie theaters, performing arts venues, indoor amusement parks, roller rinks and other assortment of recreational activities.[17] 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.[18]

These rezoning ordinances are an attempt to help rejuvenate the mall from the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. 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 prestige that this mall has earned with its reputation in featuring luxurious retailers.[19] In July 2021, it was announced that the restaurant Brio Italian Grille would be returning to the mall under new ownership,[20] despite closing down in 2020 due to its former parent company declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[21]

Anchors[]

Current anchors[]

Outparcels[]

Former anchors[]

Outparcels[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Freehold Raceway Mall Market Profile" (PDF). Macerich. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 8, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Wilmorite : Portforlio Information". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
  4. ^ Henderson, Marguerite (August 1, 1990). "Plenty to ogle at raceway mall preview". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Conroy, William (June 9, 1991). "Despite recession, retailer continues expansion plans". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Serra, Maria Jose (October 8, 1998). "Macy's wins at Raceway". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved July 25, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ [1][dead link]
  8. ^ Rooney, Ben (July 18, 2011). "Borders liquidates: 10,700 jobs lost". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Hochron, Adam (September 19, 2013). "L.L. Bean Grand Opening Celebration This Weekend". Freehold, NJ: Patch. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "At Freehold Raceway Mall". seritage.com.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Willis, David P. (February 7, 2020). "Round1 Bowling & Amusement rejected at Freehold Raceway Mall". Asbury Park Press. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ [2]. "Freehold Township officials propose permitting new uses at mall". Written by Matthew Sockol. centraljersey.com. June 30, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  16. ^ [3]. "Township Committee revises zoning at Freehold Raceway Mall site". Written by Matthew Sockol. centraljersey.com. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  17. ^ [4]. "Freehold Twp Committee Approves Expanded Raceway Mall Uses". Written by Nicole Rosenthal. Patch. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  18. ^ [5]. "Freehold Twp Committee Approves Expanded Raceway Mall Uses". Written by Nicole Rosenthal. Patch. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  19. ^ [6]. "Township Committee revises zoning at Freehold Raceway Mall site". Written by Matthew Sockol. centraljersey.com. July 15, 2021. Accessed July 17, 2021.
  20. ^ [7]. "Brio Italian Grille returning to Freehold Raceway Mall with new ownership". Written by David P. Willis. Asbury Park Press. July 23, 2021. Accessed July 29, 2021.
  21. ^ [8]. "The week in bankruptcies: FoodFirst Global Restaurants Inc., FoodFirst Global Holdings Inc. and 6 more". Orlando Business Journal. April 23, 2020. Accessed July 29, 2021.

External links[]

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