New stores, restaurants, fitness center planned for revamped Ocean County Mall

Jean Mikle | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Macy's Backstage opens at the Ocean County Mall What is Macy's Backstage anyway? Find out about what's coming to the store at the Ocean County Mall in Toms River.

TOMS RIVER - New stores, restaurants and a fitness center.

All three are in the works for Ocean County Mall under a redevelopment plan approved unanimously by the Planning Board.

Simon Property Group, the mall's owner, will demolish the vacant Sears store and build a "lifestyle center," at the Hooper Avenue Mall. The 104,000-square-foot Sears store will be replaced with 97,679-square-feet of retail space, along with a new mall entrance on the north side of the building and new landscaping.

The board action came Monday.

"The way people have shopped has changed in the last 10 years," said Paul Ricci, a Clark-based planner who helped design the mall redevelopment. "The business model of a large mall with a center ring is outdated. … This will be more of an entertainment destination, making the mall a more vibrant place."

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Stephen Shea, vice president of development for Simon, said the mall owner is not yet ready to announce tenants for the redesigned mall. But he said "demand has been very strong," for the 10 to 12 new retail spaces that will be created by the redevelopment.

"We are eager to get underway as soon as possible," Shea said. He said construction will begin as soon as all necessary permits are obtained. He estimated it will take about 18 months to complete construction.

He said that BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, to be built on a section of the mall's parking lot near Hooper Avenue, will be the first new business to open as part off the mall's redevelopment.

The Planning Board approved construction of the nearly 10,000-square-foot BJ's in January.

Planning Board members praised the project, saying they are pleased that Simon plans to invest in Toms River.

"It's going to be good for the community," board President David Cicozzi said.

The township's most recent master plan, adopted in 2017, stresses the importance of a "vital, vibrant mall" to the Hooper Avenue commercial corridor. Learn about Macy's Backstage, which opened at the mall in March, in the video above this story.

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Officials have long expressed concerns about the mall, as traditional retailers have struggled. The lifestyle center, which often includes attractions like movie theaters, restaurants and other forms of entertainment, is replacing older malls throughout the country as shopping habits have changed.

Under the plan approved Monday night, the site of the Sears building will be used for parking. Simon will build three retail buildings on the northeast corner of the mall property, closest to Oak Avenue.

The buildings will be separate from the main mall. Two of the structures will be attached, while another will be a free-standing building. A fitness center is expected to be one of the tenants in the new buildings, officials have said.

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The plan also calls for the rehabilitation of other retail spaces in the main mall building, as well as construction of a new entrance. New, modern signs and extra landscaping will be added to the mall site.

Sears, one of the mall's four anchors, closed its store in April. Simon purchased the building last December, giving it the ability to chart the future course of the site.

The redevelopment will include about 14 acres of the mall's 75-acre property.

Kathy Hulick, whose family has owned Auntie Anne's Pretzels in the mall since 1997, said she was excited about the redevelopment plans.

"This is such good news," said Hulick, of Brick. "There is so much anticipation and excitement for something new."

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com