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whybother5000 t1_j7uja9x wrote

Mall is too downmarket now given surrounding affluence. Don’t be surprised if Simon decides to cut bait and hands it to a developer. That land must be worth a fortune. Apple is a premium brand and won’t come to such a forum. Hoboken is a likelier candidate.

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down_up__left_right t1_j7ur49o wrote

The master plan for Jersey City includes breaking up the mall into several plots to be redeveloped.

>he 41-acre Newport property, which includes 130 retail stores, sits roughly four blocks off Hudson River waterfront. The master plan draft proposes to re-establish its street grid by extending Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and 10th streets — which end at Marin Boulevard — and to “simplify” Mall Drives East and West for pedestrians to reach the waterfront area walled off by the mall.

>The city intends to work closely with Newport mall’s owner, the Simon Property Group, and all stakeholders on any future plans, Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said. She said the proposals in the draft are based on community feedback, “but nothing that would transpire without support from the current property owners.”

...

>Simon spokeswoman Ali Slocum said the company hasn’t yet been approached by city planners, but it’s “committed to Jersey City and look forward to this collaboration. Newport Centre will continue to evolve, adapting to meet the needs of consumers and will continue to support the community for years to come.”

>The master plan draft provides a neighborhood-by-neighborhood glimpse into how the city could evolve over the next 20 years. The plan looks to revise open space and land use. The drafts had been available on the city’s master plan web page for recommendations and comments until Aug 2, but it was taken down on Aug 10.

So no actual plans yet.

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Ezl t1_j7utw6o wrote

I really like that. The idea is that, as currently designed, the mall “disrupts” the neighborhood, creating an artificial barrier between Hamilton Park and Newport. One of the goals of the grid approach is to remove that barrier and integrate the neighborhoods, which I think is a great idea.

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down_up__left_right t1_j7uuize wrote

And if they built retail on the first floor or 2 of the buildings that would take the malls place it probably wouldn't even be that large of a decline in retail square footage.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j7vazt2 wrote

There’s a ton of unutilized retail already in JC. They can build no retail and there would still be an oversupply of retail.

The perk the mall has is it attracts out of town people to drive in and shop with reduced taxes. Which is why those stores do so well for back to school and holiday shopping. If you got a big list of items, that tax savings is worth coming here for.

But nobody is going to endure street parking or 3 buses to save money.

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robocub t1_j7vnk9x wrote

I've been saying this for years. The mall was installed back in the day when Hamilton park wasnt so nice and they wanted to segregate it from the waterfront. Now its the opposite. The mall and the office buildings in front of it absolutely are a barrier to the waterfront and public transportation from all points west in JC. We need to open that open. Sure you can "walk" through the mall to get to the other side but its a sickening maze. Try explaining it to someone whos never traversed it. Besides the stink super oily popcorn and Cinnabon is vile.

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