History
Bridgewater Commons opened in February 1989 with anchor stores Macy's, Hahnes and Sterns. By 1991, Hahnes would change to Lord and Taylor and in 2002, Sterns to Bloomingdales. The mall complex pursued a major expansion in 1991 to add two eight-story office buildings to the complex, which would include 578,000 sq ft (53,700 m2). of office space and a 300-room hotel. The effort was initiated as part of a longstanding urban renewal project. By 2000, with a 347-room Bridgewater Marriott Hotel already under the construction, the mall's developers pushed ahead to develop the office towers planned for the complex. The two towers later opened, occupied mostly by Sanofi-Aventis.
Since opening, mall management and Somerset Medical Center have sponsored a HealthHike mall walking program to give walkers am indoors, secured, and climate-controlled environment in which to walk. Anyone can obtain a name tag to enter the mall starting at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday. The program also includes a monthly meeting at 8:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month from October through June to discuss health-related topics. Since opening, the mall has also featured an annual Christmas display and kids photo opportunity with Santa Claus in addition to a photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny around Easter time.
In 1993, Bridgewater Commons jumped on the bandwagon, becoming one of the first malls in the state to ban smoking, joining 300 of 1800 malls nationwide that prohibited smoking on mall grounds.
The mall has become a major focus in Bridgewater and an attraction throughout the area, bringing new residents to the township and shoppers to the mall which "dominates the retail industry in Somerset County." You can often find students of Immaculata High School dressed in their blue and white uniforms or students of Somerville High School walking to and around the mall right after school as it is so close by.
Bridgewater Commons underwent its first major renovation in 2004-05, replacing the flooring on the 2nd and 3rd levels, repainting the ceiling and floor lights, adding lighting, adding elevators (the glass elevator in center court would later be removed in 2007) and removing the 3 story escalator. Since September 2006, the mall has added a whole new section, called the Bridgewater Village. The Village, located directly across from the Bridgewater Marriott hotel, is rooted by such stores as Crate and Barrel. It also contains Maggiano's Little Italian Restaurant and a Chipotle Mexican Grill.
While under management and ownership by Simon Property Group, the mall also featured a preferred shoppers' program and public and personal concierge service. GGP later purchased some of Simon's properties including Bridgewater Commons.
In 2007, major tenants Eastern Mountain Sports, The Gap and Lane Bryant relocated to a nearby open-air mall, the Somerset County Shopping Center.
In 2008, the Food Court area was renovated and modernized. In 2010, The Cheesecake Factory was opened outside of the main entrance next to McCormick and Schmick's, and California Pizza Kitchen was opened near Bloomingdale's.
During the early morning hours of November 27, 2009, a power outage at a RadioShack in the mall caused chaos for some shoppers. The outage was soon fixed, and several stores had the power back on. This once again happened at Love Culture in 2010, but problems were soon resolved.
One of the most significant appearances at the mall was made by Miranda Cosgrove in 2009 when she came to do a signing for her fans. A line wrapped around all 3 levels in every area of the mall. There was little space to stand as it was so crowded. In the end, not all of the fans were able to meet Miranda.
Another famous actress known to shop in stores such as Love Culture at the mall is star of Jerseylicious, Olivia Blois Sharpe. She has been spotted there mulitple times since the opening of Love Culture in the summer of 2010.
Troubled owner GGP filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2009 but operations will continue as normal.
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