Willow Grove Park Mall - History

History

The current site of the Willow Grove Park Mall was originally Willow Grove Park, a popular amusement park that existed from 1896 to 1975. In 1978, Federated Department Stores and The Rubin Organization announced plans to build a US$25 million mall on the site of the former amusement park. The plans for the mall were approved by Abington in 1979, which included a downsizing to three anchor stores from four among concerns from residents about the size of the future mall. The Willow Grove Park Mall opened on August 11, 1982. The mall was designed with a Victorian theme honoring the former amusement park. The developers of the Willow Grove Park Mall were Federated Department Stores and The Rubin Organization and the architect was RTKL. When the mall opened, the original anchor stores were Bloomingdale's, Abraham & Straus, and B. Altman and Company. Bloomingdale's had relocated to the mall from a freestanding store in Jenkintown. When it opened, the Willow Grove Park Mall was intended to be an upscale mall. In 1984, Federated Department Stores sold its share of the mall to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States for US$43 million. In 1986, B. Altman and Company closed its store, which reopened as Sears in 1987. Sears relocated to the mall from a store in Abington. Around this time, the store selection at the mall broadened to also target the middle class. In 1988 Abraham & Straus closed and became Strawbridge & Clothier, which had relocated to the mall from a store in Jenkintown.

The mall was acquired by PREIT and the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System in 2000 for US$140 million from a group of pension fund clients managed by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments In 2001, the mall underwent a major renovation which included the addition of Macy's as an anchor, the construction of a 212,000 square feet (19,695 m2) parking garage with 800 parking spaces adjacent to Sears and the food court, and the addition of a carousel at the third floor entrance opposite the food court. The renovation of the mall cost US$25 million. PREIT assumed full ownership of the Willow Grove Park Mall in 2003 by acquiring the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System's 70% share of ownership for US$122.3 million. In 2005, a mosaic wall with images from the former Willow Grove Park was installed in the mall. The mosaics were created by the Abington Art Center's Youth Empowerment Program and the Abington Township Balanced and Restorative Justice Program from designs made by Carol Strinton-Broad. In 2006, Strawbridge’s closed due to the acquisition of its parent company May Department Stores by Federated Department Stores; a portion of the former store on the upper floor became home to The Cheesecake Factory in September 2007. The lower two floors were planned to open as Boscov's; however, it never opened due to the chain filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008. On July 28, 2011, it was announced that JCPenney would open a store on the lower two floors of the vacant Strawbridge's. In addition, it was announced that Bravo Cucina Italiana and Nordstrom Rack would open stores on the third floor of the former Strawbridge's. Bravo Cucina Italiana opened in November 2011 while Nordstrom Rack opened in May 2012. Forever 21 also relocated to a larger store at the former Strawbridge's site in December 2011. The JCPenney store opened in October 2012.

On November 25, 2006, during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year after Thanksgiving, a small fire broke out in the Forever 21 store that forced the evacuation of 6,000 shoppers; no injuries were reported. On the evening of June 15, 2011, a 16-year-old boy from Upper Moreland Township who was smoking synthetic cannabis jumped from the third level of the parking garage, suffering injuries.