Post by Marc LeVine on Mar 20, 2007 10:16:18 GMT -5
As Freehold Township tries to erect it's own artificial "Main Street" at the Raceway Mall, Freehold Borough's downtown is working hard to compete with the lure of an "every area has one" sterile shopping center. The only true competition for the hometown flavor of a centuries old downtown, like Freehold Borough, is lack of imagination and retail recruiting effort.
For every Quakerbridge Mall there is a quaint New Hope or Lambertville doing just fine, nearby. For every Monmouth Mall, there is also a trendy Red Bank or charming Little Silver, holding up their end of the deal. Therefore, Freehold Borough will soon find its own way of complimenting all of the "cookie cutter" strip shopping centers, outlet and full price malls in the local area. Yes, our town will succeed by offering our own residents and visitors a unique shopping, dining and entertainment experience that they will not soon forget. But, it will take a great deal of input, creativity, planning and effort to pull this off.
What Freehold should eventually become can be answered by a single question. What does the area competition not offer?
You won't find many of the stores in New Hope, Pa. and Lamberville, Pa. in any malls or shopping centers - not even in nearby Lahaska, Pa at Peddler's Village. I the quaint towns you can buy the most unusual items; stop next door for an outdoor or candle lit dinner and end your evening listening to live music in a splendid Irish pub or trendy nite club. You can even take in a professionally staged play up the block before retiring to a charming bed and breakfast right in town.
Flash, Freehold Borough can duplicate much of the New Hope experience, already - we just don't have as many choices. We really need a parking garage for convenience and we need many more of those quaint little shops that sell wardrobes for pets and 19th century antiques.
Spreading the downtown would also benefit the town by making more room for additional shopping and entertainment choices. We need to grow.
Live music on street corners ala New Orleans and a bigger theater like the Count Basie or the Strand would be a big draw in our town. Imagine, seeing Gordon Lightfoot or BB King at the McKelvey Building after fine dining at the Bistro or Metropolitan Cafe? Follow that up with an overnight at the Hepburn House? Yes, we can be Taos or Santa Fe, New Mexico or Central City, Colorado. They have these things. So, does little sleepy Keene, New Hampshire.
A spread out downtown would produce more revenue for the town and have less impact on our schools. An hour of interesting "walking" around would keep visitors here longer and fill downtown registers with strong receipts. People would be drawn to the experience of enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of a vibrant downtown with surprises and eye candy on every block. This is what Freehold Borough needs. This is the appropriate way to celebrate a historic town that does not need flashing neon lights and plastic facades to create "the ultimate shopping experience."
This is one man's dream that may not be shared by all of you, but in my travels around the country I have visited many towns like ours that appeal to many and other towns that appeal to none. For every Westfield, New Jersey, there is a Fish's Eddy, New York. For every Glens Falls, New York, there is a Strasburg, Pennsylvania. A town is nothing more than a lump of clay. It comes down to how you mold and shape them. And like a "Field of Dreams," if you build them (right), they will come.
Marc
More stores and restaurants being added to two area malls
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/18/07
BY NICK PETRUNCIO
STAFF WRITER
The two largest shopping malls in Monmouth County are sharpening their competitive edges through expansion projects.
Workers at the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township have begun to erect the steel skeleton of a 100,000-square-foot addition that mall officials are calling an "outdoor lifestyle center" intended to evoke a "Main Street" atmosphere. The majority of construction is expected to be completed by November, in time for the holiday shopping season.
Meanwhile in Eatontown, developers plan to build a two-story sporting goods store and three single-story structures — a grand total of 78,000 square feet — on Monmouth Mall's 104-acre property, but they have not yet broken ground. They are awaiting various approvals, such as sewer permits and a change to the mall's southern entrance on Route 35 to allow for a double-left-turn exit, according to mall attorney Peter S. Falvo Jr.
The Freehold Raceway Mall addition will be a grouping of 13 to 15 retail stores, two restaurants, and a two-story bookstore with a cafe, a promenade and an area for community events, such as concerts and exhibits.
It will stretch along the front of the mall — and be attached to it — with two entrances accessible to the mall itself from the outside. There also will be access to the mall from inside the bookstore, but not from the other retail stores or restaurants.
Frank Lucia, the mall's property manager, would not name the tenants expected to take up residence in the mall addition, but said that information would begin to be released in the next few weeks. The majority of the new stores will be open in November, he said.
"We really think the community is going to enjoy the final product," he said.
Deborah Costa of Jackson, who was shopping at the mall recently, said the plans "sound pretty good."
"They are about due for a change," Costa said.
At Monmouth Mall, the only new tenant named has been Dick's Sporting Goods. The 50,000-square-foot store will be spread over two stories. It is set to be constructed next to the mall's parking garage near Wyckoff Road.
Tenants of the other three buildings, which will consist of 6,000, 8,000 and 14,000 square feet, have not been named. The buildings are to be constructed on the mall's inner road along Route 35 up to the Route 36 interchange.
"We're moving forward on our renovation," said Ben Levine, Monmouth Mall's general manager.
A Champs restaurant was supposed to go into one of the buildings, but Champs later changed its mind, according to Falvo, who represented the mall when it received unanimous planning board approval in the fall. He said mall officials are looking for a replacement restaurant tenant.
David Mahajan of Ocean Township works at the Clubhouse Sports kiosk at Monmouth Mall. He said he welcomes the competition from Dick's and added that he believes the mall itself needs a more modern look.
"They need a whole makeover," Mahajan said.
Lucia said retail centers can easily become stale, and adding new stores and restaurants help a mall maintain a competitive edge. In fact, Falvo pointed to Freehold Raceway's expansion plans while presenting Monmouth Mall's plans to the Eatontown Planning Board at an October meeting. "We're trying to remain competitive," he said.
The Raceway Mall is Freehold Township's largest taxpayer, based on assessment, and in 2006 paid $5.2 million in property taxes.
"It is a great ratable, but it also is a great place for all of our residents to shop," Freehold Township Mayor Dorothy Avallone said.
Monmouth Mall is Eatontown's largest taxpayer. In 2006, it paid $4.5 million in property taxes.
Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said the mall is an important component to the tax base and whenever it presents a site plan, the borough takes it very seriously.
"We're actually in competition with other malls around the state and in the area," he said.
For every Quakerbridge Mall there is a quaint New Hope or Lambertville doing just fine, nearby. For every Monmouth Mall, there is also a trendy Red Bank or charming Little Silver, holding up their end of the deal. Therefore, Freehold Borough will soon find its own way of complimenting all of the "cookie cutter" strip shopping centers, outlet and full price malls in the local area. Yes, our town will succeed by offering our own residents and visitors a unique shopping, dining and entertainment experience that they will not soon forget. But, it will take a great deal of input, creativity, planning and effort to pull this off.
What Freehold should eventually become can be answered by a single question. What does the area competition not offer?
You won't find many of the stores in New Hope, Pa. and Lamberville, Pa. in any malls or shopping centers - not even in nearby Lahaska, Pa at Peddler's Village. I the quaint towns you can buy the most unusual items; stop next door for an outdoor or candle lit dinner and end your evening listening to live music in a splendid Irish pub or trendy nite club. You can even take in a professionally staged play up the block before retiring to a charming bed and breakfast right in town.
Flash, Freehold Borough can duplicate much of the New Hope experience, already - we just don't have as many choices. We really need a parking garage for convenience and we need many more of those quaint little shops that sell wardrobes for pets and 19th century antiques.
Spreading the downtown would also benefit the town by making more room for additional shopping and entertainment choices. We need to grow.
Live music on street corners ala New Orleans and a bigger theater like the Count Basie or the Strand would be a big draw in our town. Imagine, seeing Gordon Lightfoot or BB King at the McKelvey Building after fine dining at the Bistro or Metropolitan Cafe? Follow that up with an overnight at the Hepburn House? Yes, we can be Taos or Santa Fe, New Mexico or Central City, Colorado. They have these things. So, does little sleepy Keene, New Hampshire.
A spread out downtown would produce more revenue for the town and have less impact on our schools. An hour of interesting "walking" around would keep visitors here longer and fill downtown registers with strong receipts. People would be drawn to the experience of enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of a vibrant downtown with surprises and eye candy on every block. This is what Freehold Borough needs. This is the appropriate way to celebrate a historic town that does not need flashing neon lights and plastic facades to create "the ultimate shopping experience."
This is one man's dream that may not be shared by all of you, but in my travels around the country I have visited many towns like ours that appeal to many and other towns that appeal to none. For every Westfield, New Jersey, there is a Fish's Eddy, New York. For every Glens Falls, New York, there is a Strasburg, Pennsylvania. A town is nothing more than a lump of clay. It comes down to how you mold and shape them. And like a "Field of Dreams," if you build them (right), they will come.
Marc
More stores and restaurants being added to two area malls
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/18/07
BY NICK PETRUNCIO
STAFF WRITER
The two largest shopping malls in Monmouth County are sharpening their competitive edges through expansion projects.
Workers at the Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold Township have begun to erect the steel skeleton of a 100,000-square-foot addition that mall officials are calling an "outdoor lifestyle center" intended to evoke a "Main Street" atmosphere. The majority of construction is expected to be completed by November, in time for the holiday shopping season.
Meanwhile in Eatontown, developers plan to build a two-story sporting goods store and three single-story structures — a grand total of 78,000 square feet — on Monmouth Mall's 104-acre property, but they have not yet broken ground. They are awaiting various approvals, such as sewer permits and a change to the mall's southern entrance on Route 35 to allow for a double-left-turn exit, according to mall attorney Peter S. Falvo Jr.
The Freehold Raceway Mall addition will be a grouping of 13 to 15 retail stores, two restaurants, and a two-story bookstore with a cafe, a promenade and an area for community events, such as concerts and exhibits.
It will stretch along the front of the mall — and be attached to it — with two entrances accessible to the mall itself from the outside. There also will be access to the mall from inside the bookstore, but not from the other retail stores or restaurants.
Frank Lucia, the mall's property manager, would not name the tenants expected to take up residence in the mall addition, but said that information would begin to be released in the next few weeks. The majority of the new stores will be open in November, he said.
"We really think the community is going to enjoy the final product," he said.
Deborah Costa of Jackson, who was shopping at the mall recently, said the plans "sound pretty good."
"They are about due for a change," Costa said.
At Monmouth Mall, the only new tenant named has been Dick's Sporting Goods. The 50,000-square-foot store will be spread over two stories. It is set to be constructed next to the mall's parking garage near Wyckoff Road.
Tenants of the other three buildings, which will consist of 6,000, 8,000 and 14,000 square feet, have not been named. The buildings are to be constructed on the mall's inner road along Route 35 up to the Route 36 interchange.
"We're moving forward on our renovation," said Ben Levine, Monmouth Mall's general manager.
A Champs restaurant was supposed to go into one of the buildings, but Champs later changed its mind, according to Falvo, who represented the mall when it received unanimous planning board approval in the fall. He said mall officials are looking for a replacement restaurant tenant.
David Mahajan of Ocean Township works at the Clubhouse Sports kiosk at Monmouth Mall. He said he welcomes the competition from Dick's and added that he believes the mall itself needs a more modern look.
"They need a whole makeover," Mahajan said.
Lucia said retail centers can easily become stale, and adding new stores and restaurants help a mall maintain a competitive edge. In fact, Falvo pointed to Freehold Raceway's expansion plans while presenting Monmouth Mall's plans to the Eatontown Planning Board at an October meeting. "We're trying to remain competitive," he said.
The Raceway Mall is Freehold Township's largest taxpayer, based on assessment, and in 2006 paid $5.2 million in property taxes.
"It is a great ratable, but it also is a great place for all of our residents to shop," Freehold Township Mayor Dorothy Avallone said.
Monmouth Mall is Eatontown's largest taxpayer. In 2006, it paid $4.5 million in property taxes.
Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said the mall is an important component to the tax base and whenever it presents a site plan, the borough takes it very seriously.
"We're actually in competition with other malls around the state and in the area," he said.
