History
Construction on the $100 million Hamilton Mall began in November 1985 by Kravco Company (now Kravco Company LLC) and JCP Realty Inc., the development arm of JCPenney, just south of the Atlantic City Racetrack. The mall, which was built on a 104-acre (0.42 km2) tract that were former entrance roads and overflow parking for the race course, eventually opened in September 1987. The mall contained room for four department stores, one of which was never built. The Macy's was originally supposed to be a Bambergers, until Macys acquired the company in 1986. JCPenney and Sears moved from the nearby Shore Mall.
In August 1989, a small strip mall anchored by Marshalls, dubbed the "Convneience Center", opened behind the main mall area as an outparcel. In 1991, Red Lobster opened on the outskirts of the parking lot, with Olive Garden also opening on a pad site in the parking lot in 1995. The Convenience Center is currently void of any retail stores, and its lone tenant is a gymnastics academy. The former Marshalls is currently located at the nearby Hamilton Commons shopping center.
In the early 2000s, construction began on the Wrangleboro Consumer Square, a large power center sprawling from the Atlantic City Expressway to the Black Horse Pike, with some smaller pad sites located on the mall's entrance road. This, together with the development of several other new shopping centers in the area, prompted the mall to undergo an $8 million renovation. The renovation included the removal of several fountains, trees and planters, and a carousel located near the mall's main entrance. Most of this was done to make way for more kiosks, as well as new lounge areas featuring soft seating and TVs. The large elevated seating area and planters in the food court were removed to make way for more seating and spaces for tenants in the center. The renovation also included new flooring, lighting, signage, and color scheme. In 2009, a new carousel opened across from the food court, in the underused area near the "ghost" anchor.
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