It’s a shame local towns with these malls should buy the property and convert them into homeless shelters or clinics and not properties just sit and rot while the owners of the property just did nothing to even bring new business to the property.

Is Wiilowbrook Mall still alive in Wayne? (Moved out of NJ 27 years ago)

yeah it’s still there and crowded af

Some of the empty stores in Monmouth Mall (Eatontown) are being rented by local merchants, like jewelry repair folks etc. It ain't dead quite yet but is a shell of its former robust 200+ individual retailers. Sad. But change is the only constant, right?

Yes it is and going strong still

That's good to know. I used to walk there from Little Falls (I lived near Montclair State University) with friends. It was a decent mall. A lot of good memories of going there as a kid with my parents also. It's a shame all of the malls are dying. Was such a cool place during the holidays. It got you in the mood for them. Now they are mostly all ghost towns. So sad.

We used to get a TON of New Yorkers at all of the North Jersey malls because NJ didn't have tax on clothes & they did in NY.

they still come from the 5 boroughs…and yes they have no idea how to drive or where they are going

And now it's a Shoprite

Aww, I cut my shopping teeth in the Wayne Hills Mall in the early 80s. I can still mentally walk through it.

Look at what they did at homdel s bell works.. they did a wonderful job changing with the times

Was just going to say this

The malls are owned by investors. They will do what is in their financial interests, not necessarily what is in the best interest of the community.

Some investors want the malls to die. It gives them the opportunity to drive down the 'value' of the property and force the community to re-zone it. They will then put forth an "economic plan" that suggests higher tax revenue to the area, and the zoning board will sign off on it. But rarely are studies done showing how the re-zoning will impact traffic, infrastructure, etc. More housing means a higher demand for schools, more fast food outlets mean a higher traffic volume, more medical facilities mean a greater demand for public transit (for workers and patients).

Sadly, there are no easy answers. But investors will play the long game and squeeze communities to a point where the mall become an eyesore, and a tax drain, and the community will gladly sign off on any plan to 'revitalize' the area.

Point is: get involved in your local community. Volunteer for a position on your Planning Board. Travel to other areas of the country and the world and see what works. We have a ton of sprawl here, and capitalism doesn't always make for the best living environment.

That’s assuming that suburban governments or their constituents want a homeless shelter in their communities. It’s bad that they don’t, and someone should probably compel them to do that, but it’s an unfortunate reality of suburban life that that mindset is prevalent.

Ha! How many homeless people are in Wayne? Probably none if any. There's quite a few homeless in Paterson / Passaic and lots of empty buildings there.

One of the malls of my youth. And like my youth, going, going, ….

I was always at this mall with my grandma at the McDonald’s.

It does t help that the roads around the mall were drawn by a three year old.

TBF, the mall was expanded many times over the years.

There is a lot of homeless Wayne. You Might not openly see them as much as Passaic or Paterson…

They're putting in a BJs now right by Dave and busters.

I used to love the arcade that was in this mall ❤️ and Sam Goody

> Ha! How many homeless people are in Wayne? Probably none if any.

There are homeless people basically everywhere. Toms River had a huge encampment that was discovered a few years back.

Don't forget the massive potholes, the worst ones right around where the new movie theaters are. I can feel my teeth rattle every time I forget to swerve around them.

Fond memories of going to the arcade and Sam Goody here after school. Then the arcade closed, then Sam Goody, then Waldenbooks, and the rest.

I miss the mall experience of the 80s and 90s. Sure amazon is convenient but just not the same

> Bell Works

But that was never a mall... it was office space they converted into mixed use. Which granted, was great to use the existing structure.

I don't think they'd do that with a mall.

Yes I know it wasn’t a mall… like any building you can make any type of alternation to make it work for future needs. Bell works was a office building that turned into a mall. I imagine you can turn the mall into a office complex as well but that’s 2010 we are in 2022 plenty of things we need.

Moved away from the area a while ago but wasn’t there an A&P (or some other grocery store) right behind the Wayne hills mall? And isn’t there a Shoprite less than a mile up Hamburg Tpk. right past Valley Road?

Are they hiding at starbucks?

The homeless tend to stick community centers such as the library, hospitals, civic centers and wellness centers. They tend to avoid or avoid looking homeless to fit better into society

There used to be a Pathmark nearby which is now an LAFitness. ShopRite down Hamburg relocated to the old Wayne hills mall location

Ugh, I miss Pathmark..

I'm always surprised how dead this mall is given the wealth of the surrounding areas and how far it is from any other mall.

Willowbrook and GSP are both very strong right now.

Willowbrook also has a dave and busters, costco around the corner, Costco gas, a movie theater, a nj transit bus station (with it being the last stop on the way to nyc), and some decent restaurants and places to drink.

If there was ever a place with a chance at survival, it's this.

Make them into housing.

Which never made since bc the money you put in for gas or train plus bus would be more than the taxes.

I loved the Wayne Hills Mall. It was where you would go when you didn't want to deal with the insanity of Willowbrook.

I like that the food court was accessible from a parking lot - didn't have to find the center of the mall first. Florida malls, take note! Haven't been back in ~10yrs

Whichever mall is still salvageable, just make them, into a large open spaced apartments complexes for dirt cheap. They can house hundreds of potential renters.

Wow about all of the changes but they did have a huge movie theater on the outskirts that we used to sneak into & also a lot of good restaurants nearby.

Spent a lot of time in the arcade and Sam Goody’s as a kid.

Loews Wayne Theater, now AMC.

Yep. They finished adding in a Dave and Busters, Costco, AMC theaters, Cinemark, and now building a BJ's ALL In one parking lot! It's crazy!! I personally love it. The mall is going WAY strong, might even be the next "big thing" soon imo

Yes! It was called Loews back in the day. Thanks!

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Ahhhh I got ya. Thanks for the clarification I haven’t passed through Wayne in a loooong time.

My local mall (Quakerbridge) is on its way to looking like this

I thought you were going to say the Monmouth Mall. Literally half the stores are empty.

Except Hot Topic and Spencers...I am pretty sure they come with the mall.

Last Christmas of the Wayne Hills Mall.

Ok but Wayne Hills never really had any life to begin with. I remember going here as a child over 30 years ago and it was pretty dead.

Kmart tho - that was always packed.

Yes Willowbrook and the Garden State Plaza are still the big malls. Next to Willowbrook they added a Costco and some other big retailers like DSW, Dicks, Nordstrom Rack and a new movie theater. Traffic is crazy to get in and out most weekends. There is a Dave and Busters In Willowbrook now too

Damn, really? I haven't been up that way in about 3 years since I left MSU, but isn't there a Costco there already too?

I remember going to the arcade there with my cousins when I was a kid. And Zany Brainy, but I can't remember if it was in this mall or just nearby.

I dunno if this is really controversial or not but oh well. I’m not sure if we should celebrate blatant consumerism like malls where people just walk in not even knowing what they’re gonna buy. Not saying this doesn’t happen online but there’s not too much about that time in US history that’s worthwhile to boast about.

I thought they were renovating/redesigning the whole thing. So that means not renewing leases which is why you see more and more empty stores, but still renting (I assume) temporary short term kiosk space until the main stores leases end?

The deservedly maligned Spaghetti Bowl of Routes 80, 46, and 23.

Dunno..

That plan wont make any investors wealthy. Money is king.

True, but fuck them. They have the capital? They should be forced to fucking spend it. Humanity is not built on solely money but BRAINS behind said money.

Yes there is

Ooooohhh like the traffic there isn't already bad enough 🤣

Yah like in the "newer" middle part that has Nordstrom Rack in it. I actually just got back home from there lmfao. Have a wedding tomorrow and realized I don't have any nice black dress shoes. Last minute Nordy run ftw!

They renovated the whole inside too, it looks really nice. I do kinda miss the big fountain in the middle tho. :(

I remember that place when I went to college down the street at William Paterson back in the early 90's - it was already 1/2 empty back then. My roommate worked at the department store there for a couple years to help pay for his tuition.

Middlesex mall still vibrant

Hot take: malls kida suck! People of a certain age have nostalgia for them, but they are ugly, soulless, and are poor replacements for town centers. Good riddance.

They put a second theater in the parking lot of the mall where the sears auto was

Your opinion is duly noted and dismissed.

I haven’t been in ages, as it was my aunt’s grocery store we would go to when I was a kid (she moved long ago), but is that the one where you had to take an elevator?

There’s a stop and shop like half mile away.