subject: Voorhees Town Center [print this page] Property history Property history
The site on which the Echelon Mall was built began as an airfield: nearly 200 acres of farmland bought by flying enthusiasts Rogers and Jeannette Smith in 1939. The Echelon Airfield was incorporated in 1944 and went on to house 20 planes. The development included three grass runways, a gift shop, a small caf and hangar capable of housing six planes. The airfield was mostly used for recreational flying, flying lessons, and a take-off point for crop dusters and chartered flights.
Rogers Smith died in a flying accident in 1950, and his wife leased the airfield to Hugh and Kay Hamill, who ran the airfield until Mrs. Smith sold the property in 1962. The new owners renamed the field Delaware Valley Airpark, and ran it for three more years. Five years after that, the mall was built on the site.
Echelon Mall
Until redevelopment began in January 2007, the Echelon Mall had a gross leasable area of 1,127,308 square feet (104,730m). This made it the second largest mall in southern New Jersey after Cherry Hill Mall. Echelon was developed in 1970 as the center of a residential and commercial center in Voorhees.
Decline
Echelon was a very popular mall up until around 2000, when the mall began to struggle to the point where some are preparing to consider it a dead mall, even though the surrounding area is not considered to be in decline. By 2005, the vacancy rate was nearly 75%. Echelon has had several problems contributing to its high vacancy rate including its overexpansion with four anchors. Sears, which was built in 1998 closed just three years later. The rest of the mall also did not get a much needed renovation to stay competitive and attractive. J.C. Penney left the mall shortly after Sears. There has been a gradual loss of national chains since.
In addition, there are numerous other malls close by in South Jersey, including moderately-sized malls in Moorestown, Cherry Hill and Deptford. While Echelon competed with these centers for years, the advent of newer centers such as The Promenade at Sagemore in Marlton, and significant renovation of the Deptford Mall, with the addition of a JCPenney, have provided more attractive shopping alternatives in the area. Also, whereas most United States shopping malls are located near an Interstate highway or at least a principal thoroughfare, Echelon is relatively difficult to get to, located at the somewhat obscure intersection of Somerdale and Burnt Mill Roads in Voorhees.
Redevelopment plans
After its proposal for a Wal-Mart store was rejected by residents, PREIT submitted plans to demolish the abandoned anchor stores and adjacent mall space to make way for a mixed-use "town center" featuring a 65,000-square-foot (6,000m2) supermarket and 130,000square feet (12,000m2) of retail stores along a landscaped boulevard. PREIT renovated the downsized mall to house 253,000square feet (23,500m2) of small specialty shops along with anchor stores Macy's and Boscov's.
The mall has been renamed as Voorhees Town Center. The groundbreaking ceremony on the new project was on January 30, 2007. The former Sears and JCPenney buildings, and the mall corridor between Macy's and the former JCPenney had been demolished.
As of December 2007, work has been completed on the mall portion of the town center. The mall has officially changed to Voorhees Town Center.
Anchors
Boscov's (173,000 sq. ft.; originally Lit Brothers, later Gimbels and then Stern's)
Macy's (224,000 sq. ft.; formerly Strawbridge's)
Former anchors
Sears (built and opened in 1998, closed 2001, demolished 2007)
JCPenney (closed ca. 2003, demolished 2007)
References
^ "PREIT Announces Construction to Begin on Voorhees Town Center: Demolition of former Sears Building at Echelon Mall Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 11:00 AM Redevelopment will transform Echelon Mall into Voorhees Town Center", PREIT press release dated January 29, 2007. Accessed February 28, 2008.
^ Rachel Misenko (September 9, 1009). "Echelon Airfield will be focus of Voorhees tribute". Courier-Post. http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090909/NEWS01/909090339/1006/RSS01. Retrieved September 9, 1009.
^ Directory of Major Malls: Echelon Mall, International Council of Shopping Centers. Accessed August 16, 2007.
^ "ICSC SHOPPING CENTER DEFINITIONS: Basic Configurations and Types", International Council of Shopping Centers. Accessed August 16, 2007.
^ Wither Echelon?, Tom Lorenz's Blog. March 4, 2005
^ Grzyboski, Lisa. Town Center project under way in Voorhees, Courier-Post, January 31, 2007.
External links
PREIT press release
Voorhees Town Center website
International Council of Shopping Centers: Echelon Mall
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Shopping malls in the metro Philadelphia area
Pennsylvania
Berkshire Mall Cheltenham Square Mall Coventry Mall Exton Square Mall Fairgrounds Square Mall Franklin Mills The Gallery at Market East Granite Run Mall King of Prussia Mall (Court at King of Prussia Plaza at King of Prussia) MacDade Mall Montgomery Mall Neshaminy Mall Oxford Valley Mall Plymouth Meeting Mall Roosevelt Mall Springfield Mall Willow Grove Park Mall
New Jersey
Burlington Center Mall Cherry Hill Mall Cumberland Mall Deptford Mall Moorestown Mall Ocean County Mall The Promenade at Sagemore Voorhees Town Center
Delaware
Christiana Mall Concord Mall Tri-State Mall
Categories: Camden County, New Jersey | Shopping malls in New Jersey | Shopping malls established in 1970Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles in need of updating
