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Menlo Park Mall

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Coordinates: 40°32′18″N 74°22′43″W / 40.53833°N 74.37861°W / 40.53833; -74.37861
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Menlo Park Mall
Entrance to Menlo Park Mall
Map
Location55 Parsonage Road
Edison, New Jersey 08837
USA
Coordinates40°32′18″N 74°22′43″W / 40.53833°N 74.37861°W / 40.53833; -74.37861
Opening dateSeptember 1959 (renovated/enclosed in 1966-1967 and expanded in 1990-1991 and renovated in 2015)
DeveloperLomen Construction[1]
ManagementSimon Property Group
OwnerSimon Property Group
ArchitectRTKL Associates Inc. (Dallas Texas)
No. of stores and services156
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor area1,332,132 sq ft (123,759.1 m2)[2]
No. of floors2
Public transit accessBus transport NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 810
Websitesimon.com/mall/menlo-park-mall

Menlo Park Mall is a two-level super regional shopping mall, located on U.S. Route 1 and Parsonage Road in Edison, New Jersey. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,332,132 sq ft (123,759.1 m2)[2] and is owned and managed by Simon Property Group.[3]

History

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The Menlo Park Shopping Center opened in September 1959, as an open-air complex. It was developed and constructed by Abraham Sommer and Sigmund Sommer, developers from Iselin, New Jersey.[4] It was named after the Menlo Park area of Edison, also the site of Thomas Edison's former laboratory location. The structure was fully enclosed between June 1966 and December 1967.[5] After the remodeling, it was renamed Menlo Park Mall, a prominent retail hub in Edison, New Jersey, is part of Simon Property Group's extensive portfolio of over 200 properties in the United States, highlighting its significance within the regional shopping landscape.[6]

The original center was anchored by Bamberger's, JCPenney, Woolworth as well as two grocery stores: ShopRite and Safeway.[7] Montgomery Ward opened in January 1962.[8] The Montgomery Ward space was taken over by Alexander's in 1972.[9] Bamberger's was rebranded by Macy's in 1986.[10] After Alexander's went out of business in 1988,[11] the mall was able to secure the second Nordstrom in New Jersey, but changes had to be made to prepare for the opening.[12]

Menlo Park converted to a fully enclosed mall in 1967, the first in Central New Jersey.[13] Most of the mall was closed from 1990 to 1991, when it underwent a significant renovation and expansion that changed it from a single-story structure into its current two-story form.[14] In expanding and fitting into the space, the new Menlo Park Mall was built on an angle with the vertex occurring at center court. The renovated Menlo Park Mall was also changed to have galleria style skylights, domed fountain courts, marble flooring, dramatic lighting, sculptures and a large, skylit food court featuring trees and sculptures, designed to look like a formal garden. The new mall was designed by architecture firm RTKL Associates Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Two parking decks were also added, as was a 12-screen Cineplex Odeon movie theater which replaced the smaller Menlo Park Cinema on Route 1. Cineplex was later replaced by an AMC Dine-In Theater. Macy's was the only store to remain open during the primary expansion. Nordstrom officially opened to the public at Menlo Park Mall on September 27, 1991.[15]

Center court of Menlo Park Mall

On March 9, 1997, Target Greatland opened across the street from the mall.[16] Rainforest Cafe opened on September 17, 1998.[17]

On January 27, 2003, the Cheesecake Factory opened its doors for the first time.[18]

In 2014, Smashburger opened along with an upgrade to the food court.[19]

In 2015, a renovation project was started which removed such features as the central fountain and trees. The food court's raised platform, sculptures, and trees were also removed, and the food court was renamed Dining Pavilion.[20]

On September 22, 2018, a Disney Junior themed kids zone opened by Nordstrom.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Edison building tops $2,650,000". Central New Jersey Home News. November 18, 1958. p. 13. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Menlo Park Mall, International Council of Shopping Centers, backed up by the Internet Archive as of February 5, 2012. Accessed September 4, 2018.
  3. ^ About Menlo Park Mall, Simon Property Group. Accessed June 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on March 31, 1962 · 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Barmash, Isadore. "Nordstrom's Fashion Chain Will Expand to Jersey in '90", The New York Times, October 6, 1988. Accessed June 26, 2022. "He said that the center was opened in 1960 as an open-air mall but became an enclosed mall in 1967."
  6. ^ Reserved, Simon Media Properties LLC, © Copyright 2024 All Rights. "Menlo Park Mall". www.simon.com. Retrieved December 7, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Menlo Park advertisement". Central New Jersey Home News. August 22, 1961. p. 9.
  8. ^ "Montgomery Ward to Open in January at Menlo Park". Central New Jersey Home News. October 12, 1961. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Alexander's Sets Opening For Nov.2". Asbury Park Press.
  10. ^ "First Bamberger's takes plunge in well-known name exchange". Central New Jersey Home News. September 4, 1986. p. 16.
  11. ^ "CLOSED". The Herald-News. May 16, 1992. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Centers work at staying up-to-date; strip malls continuing to thrive". The Star-Ledger. January 27, 1991. p. 328.
  13. ^ "Festivities Mark Opening of Mall at Menlo Park Center". Central New Jersey Home News. October 26, 1967. p. 8.
  14. ^ "In the Region: New Jersey; Renovating a Mall to Stay Competitive", The New York Times, January 13, 1991.
  15. ^ "Nordstrom gets ready for business". The Central New Jersey Home News.
  16. ^ Pristin, Terry (March 5, 1997). "Target Store Aimed at Edison". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  17. ^ "Weekends start with us". Asbury Park Press.
  18. ^ "The Cheesecake Factory Opens in Edison, New Jersey, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated". Investors.thecheesecakefactory.com. January 28, 2003. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  19. ^ "Smashburger Brings Fresh Flavors to Menlo Park Mall | Woodbridge, NJ Patch". Patch.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  20. ^ "Menlo Park Mall renovations to start in spring".
  21. ^ "Disney Junior Play Zone opens at Menlo Park Mall in Edison". Mycentraljersey.com. September 22, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
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