Mall History
The mall opened in 1970 with original anchors JCPenney and Bamberger's. The mall was originally owned by the DeBartolo cooperation and later sold to Simon Property Group in 1999. Bamberger's became Macy's in 1986, when the chain was phased out in favor of the Macy's name. By 1989, expansion plans were discussed. These plans would have added an additional floor, more stores, a parking deck and an additional anchor store. The plans were scaled back slightly to gain township approval because area residents were apprehensive about the traffic that the new expansion would generate. Due to the recession of the mid-1990s this major expansion never took place.
In 1999, a smaller expansion took place that added a Barnes and Noble and expanded the movie theater to 13 stadium seating screens. The theater expansion occupied an adjacent McCrory's, which was the only non-department store in the mall at the time to feature an outdoor entrance. Several eateries were incorporated into the movie theater, including Nathan's, Ben & Jerry's, and Auntie Anne's, to make up for a lack of a proper food court. In October 2000, the interior of the mall was renovated in which new ceilings, skylights, flooring and lighting was installed and a second main entrance was constructed on the west side of the mall through a space formerly occupied by Kinney Shoes, next to Spencer's Gifts. In 2011, JCPenney underwent major renovations to give the store a new look and add a Sephora store inside the department store.
Read more about this topic: Brunswick Square (East Brunswick, New Jersey)
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