The Ledgewood Mall is in a bad, bad state...
I was at the Ledgewood Mall this afternoon on my way home and I can say I was almost in tears at it's state. There is essentially no stores open other than the big ones... Marshall's, Macy's, Walmart, and Ashley Furniture. There could not have been more than 50 people in the entire mall, including inside the stores, whereas there must be around 500 people in the mall at Rockaway when I go there. The strange part is, the last time I was there (maybe 5-6 years ago?) it certainly wasn't a Short Hills, but it had decent stores and was fairly busy. I guess it was pretty surprising. My wife had been there more recently and had said it was sad, but I expected about 20% of the stores closed, not about 80%! I have no idea what happened, but I expect it to go the way of the Hackettstown mall in just a few years.
Lngvly22 
jrze prideThis has apparently been happening for some time. Here is a previous thread, and another previous thread is mentioned in this one, as well:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/524367
Rebecka "Even as a Long Valley resident, I must lobby for Hackettstown for the simple reason that we can't get ANYTHING done here. If somebody wanted to build a Trader Joe's the township would oppose."
Lngvly22
WT wouldn't oppose a Trader Joe's but as you can see by your visit to the Ledgewood Mall many retailers are closing their stores. If they can't make it in a location like Succasunna how would they make it in Long Valley?
Not only is the Ledgewood Mall losing more and more stores, but most of the parking lots around the stores are full of giant potholes...Some have been roped off and orange barrels placed by them. Some areas are really very dangerous to try to drive through.
joyful They had 50 people? That's probably the most in 20 years. It's been dead for that long, and comparing it to an actual mall like Rockaway is not even close. I couldn't agree with calling something like that an icon.
GC That mall is been a ghost town for a very long time. I grew up the next town over and when we moved out of Randolph that mall was pretty sad.
I would be surprised if there was 20 people in that mall at any given time including mall employees
Mommyof3 I wonder how many people were in the Walmart compared to the rest of the stores? I think the answer to that is the reason there will never be a Trader Joe's in the area.
music gal Area "No Way " stores of the future!
Aldi's ..... Wegmans ...... Trader Joes........ Dicks Sporting Goods ..... and a multitude of others!
All wishful Thinking! ..... Right along with the RT46 to RT57 Bypass!
It Is what It Is; and Ye Got, what Ye Got! .....For How Long??... Nobody Knows!
A Big "Rockaway Sales Comeback" would be nice! .... "Now that's really dreaming!!!
embryodad That Mall has had empty space for 20 years. Obviously it is run by idiots. Roxbury is a busy area. If you can't captalize on it then you are an idoit...
Metsman So stores like Trader Joes don't build in areas of high population where they will get higher sales , but rather in places of high IQ's and incomes where no one would dare step into a Walmart ? Thanks for insulting everyone in the town snobby dumb-ass !
Zombo Was in the Bridgewater Commons Mall on Sunday. The place was jumping. The Mall concept is not dead folks. People still want to get out and explore and spend $$. It's all about how you manage/market that property/experience which Ledgewood Mall needs terrible help with.
Vic Vic - Malls with upscale stores are holding their own but others are struggling. Also, as you mentioned the Bridgewater Commons Mall was jumping on Sunday. The weather was cold and cloudy. On a beautiful weekend day or during the week, especially late morning/early afternoon the malls are not very busy. People have changed their shopping habits and are more likely to shop online.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2014/03/are-malls-over.html
Ashley OP you say you were in the mall maybe 5 or 6 years ago and you can't understand the problem? With such loyal customers it's a wonder there are any stores left there
eapos Lngvl22 Is this still a dream of yours?
A friend of mine suggested that we build a new mall in Hackettstown, because there is no nearby indoor mall, and we don't have an Apple Store, Hollister, Abercrombie, Sears, Macy's, Bloomingdales, or any mall staples in our area. I am considering writing to a big property group that owns the Bridgewater (not rockaway) mall called GGP. What do you guys think?
NJKID1010 Keep it away. Dont need all that here. People move out here to get away from crowds and live in a peaceful area. Its not so hard to drive 20-30 mins to Bridgewater Mall, Rockaway Mall, Pburg Mall.
Forget it! No reason for it at all.
As far as the Ledgewood Mall goes, it is a mess over there with the parking lot mazes and quality of the paving which was mentioned before.
I don't think people are being snobbish by saying the stuff about Walmart. Walmarts go in and all the other stores diminish. It happens in other areas of the country where Walmarts took over. Then Walmart becomes even more crappy but we are stuck with it. Just look at the one in Mansfield. I will NOT go there unless I absolutely am in a situation where I must. They start out looking good, fully stocked, prices enticing. Then they have low inventory, unhappy employees or very few to open up registers, etc. rotting foods, dirty store conditions, prices deceivingly climbing. Each time people gave their business to the Walmarts they added another nail to the coffin of the businesses they claim to want in their area. Such is life.
It is the property owner in Ledgewood that let it get that bad.
People don't have money to spend frivolously in this economy and if you do have it to spend, go to the Bridgewater and or Rockaway malls. We certainly don't need any of the stores mentioned above here when they are just a 20/30 min. ride away. Sears hardware was here and failed.
Contact that group and maybe they can take over the Ledgewood area but no need to build anything more around here. There are already too many empty buildings over there in Mansfield.
youngnfresh I'm with you BBU- no more building. Take a drive if you NEED to get to the mall! LOL.
As we all know NJ has the highest population density with 1,030 people per square mile- 13 times the national average.
NJ also has the most dense system of highways and railroads in the U.S. Another mall may require more roadways or at least expanding a quaint rural street into something larger.
NJ has the highest percent urban population in the U.S. with about 90% of the people living in urban areas. Lets keep the malls out of the last bit of rural NJ left.
Also, North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world with seven major shopping malls in a 25 sq. mile radius.
Besides Amazon rules...!!! LOL.
Greg You build a mall say goodbye to Main St. stores. Big box stores and online buying are killing the Main St. USA!
Christine I don't know why I bother, half of what I write will be ignored or fall on deaf ears anyway, but here goes...
The problem we have is one of limited demand tied to unlimited building from real estate developers. You can take the Ledgewood mall and use the old Hackettstown mall as a similar substitute. Here was a perfectly functional mall with many stores to suit many needs. Then a developer thought it would be a great idea to build on every stitch of open farm land along the Musconetcong river between Shoprite and the start of Beattystown. The smart stores knew that people will naturally gravitate toward the "new" shiny mall with the one new business everyone wants to go to (Walmart) and left the old. Then the Hackettstown mall went into a death spiral as more and more stores left for the new space along Rt. 57. Finally, no one was left but for Marshalls, and the rest of the Hackettstown mall was torn down. Replaced by a Lowes, while a Home depot that does much better business is right around the corner. Meanwhile, there is another long since defunct start of another shopping center right next to the current Lowes. Then, some corporate nitwits decide it would be a good idea to put not just one, but two giant grocery stores next to Shoprite. in very short order, the new A&P closed. Weis is still fumbling along.
The obvious solution to all these problems is to stop new building and make better use of current development, until it becomes obvious more development is needed. Imagine Walmart had taken over the defunct space next to the current Lowes. Smart move. You finally do something purposeful with already ruined land, and the Hackettstown mall would still be a living, well utilized space. Plus, we'd still have more arable farmland along Rt. 57. What do we have instead? Ruined land with impervious acres of paved parking lot funneling oil tainted rainwater runoff right into the Musconetcong river, and a swath of under-utilized spaces and storefronts along Main Street and the strip o' endless fast food. Great planning, America!
eperot What I don't get is that the maintenance cost are the same to run the mall interior promenade (lighting, cleaning, security, parking lot maintained etc. ) regardless of whether the stores are rented and up and running or not. So if I owned the place I would be marketing the hell out of it to create revenue, and presence as a vibrant location, For starters I would give 6-8 months free rent with a 3-5 year lease, options on 5 or 10 year. To help the business get off the ground start off low rent and have a graduating yearly rent increase in order for the tenant to grow as the mall grows with all the other new tenants. I really don't know what the hell is up with the Armstrong Realty Management. I would as a landlord have that dam place fill at any cost!! They really need to call in Marcus Lemonis from the CNBC show "The Profit" and full the dam place and the people will come!!
"Negativity creates more Negativity"
Take it from one that has been there
Mr Negative Smaller malls like that are going the way of the buffalo. No one's building enclosed malls anymore because too many people see them as free heat in the winter and AC in the summer and just come to window shop, or the kids go there, and rarely buy anything than a soda at the food court, which doesn't help make much money. Plus half the time the kids show up in big groups, dress odd, or look like they just stepped out of Hot Topic, and most hang out by the entrances and smoke which is a big turnoff for casual shoppers who aren't going there because they actually need something. It's why you see more outdoor "strip malls" and places like the Trade Zone rather than a new mall like Rockaway. They're trying to discourage people from coming just to "hang out".
the anchor stores aren't a big draw either in Ledgewood. Marshalls I guess people still shop at, but last time I was i one it was very disorganized, stuff was allover and it looks like they allow people to just open boxes of housewares on the shelf to look inside and never repack the box, so you have to wonder if you're going to have all the pieces. Macy's is redundant since the one that's bigger in Rockaway is only 10 mins away. I believe they tried to close it before but somehow it missed the ax. My sister works in the Ledgewood one so I guess its good for her it's still there.
Smaller malls, like Ledgewood and Phillipsburg can't retain much of their retailers probably because their costs are too high making rent too high for the storefronts. The smaller mom&pop stores can't afford it, so they look for a spot in a strip mall that may be cheaper.
Malls just aren't what they used to be up til the end of the 80s.
Elliot That is because the let in go into default and then by it back from the bank for cheap,without the proper maintenance the value goes down,look at the Sutton park shopping center in flanders(same owners) empty stores for years with all kind of damage inside.Snow removal guys sue for 100,000 dollars for no payments,every year a new company gets screwed.
Wendy Ok so know i know Lngvly22 and NJKID1010 are husband and wife.
Also NJKID i think you can see from the thread you started a few weeks ago under your husband's name, not many people would want a mall back in Hackettstown.
darwin LOL Darwin- She's not my wife. My wife isn't on this site and she used my account to start the "controversial" "New Mall in Hackettstown" question which permanently labeled me (I guess) as a mall-promoter.
Darwin learn to read. Lngvly22 started the mall thread a few weeks ago. We are not related nor do we know each other. I simply reposted his original opening statement asking if he still wanted a local mall based on the downward spiral of the Ledgewood Mall.
"Do you, Lngvly22 take NJKID1010, to be your partner in all forms of Mall chatter on the Hackettstown Forum?" (and, do we even know they are of the opposite sex for God sake?!) ((though today one can be admonished for even bringing up that as an issue)) (((using the rarely seen "double parenthesis", now taken to a higher level with this "Triple Parenthesis")))
That "husband wife" twist was pretty amusing, others now berating others about who started what thread, and that they are now a tag team- high entertainment value!
And, eperot- that was some good thought out writing- that's what I really enjoy about here! (and the occasional controversy)
The Rhyme Animal A national business review recently reported what astute person could see coming. After decades of development ripping off the U.S.public and destroying untold acres of tillable land ,the ride is coming to an end. The mega mall thing is history!! Who needs the hassle of traffic,huge parking lots,crime ,Etc ? The Boomers and their Gen-X kids can now figure out how to pay the piper for all that foolishness!! ( but the Pols and the developers got theirs long ago)
Oldtimer I just heard that Macy's is closing down, and that the mall will be torn down. The person who told me that, wasn't sure what they were going to do with it, or even if they will let the stores that are still in there fill out their leases. I have no idea if that's even true...or just a rumor, but that is prime property, so something will end up being put in there. It will be interesting to see what happens. What I don't understand is why there hasn't been anything in the papers about it.
dollfriend 
farmgirl20 I would guess Walmart will decide for the property owner what happens to that mall. They are the only reason it hasnt been torn down yet.
aguy 
Blackcat I have no idea if that's even true...or just a rumor, but that is prime property, so something will end up being put in there. It will be interesting to see what happens. What I don't understand is why there hasn't been anything in the papers about it.
dollfriend
Maybe because even you yourself said: I have no idea if that's even true...or just a rumor
Clyde Potts I highly doubt it's anything but a rumor. Wal-Mart, Macy's, Ashley Furniture and Marshall's are all profitable stores. I'll keep my eyes open but I believe a total closure is highly improbable.
CraftBeerBob It's official, Macy's announced this afternoon in a press release the Ledgewood location (along with 13 other stores across the country) will be closing.
dowman Just noticed that as well.
http://www.wcvb.com/money/list-of-macys-stores-closing-nationwide-by-spring-2015/30602460
JC Penney will be closing 40 stores:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/08/jc-penney-closing-stores-2015_n_6436518.html
The Ledgewood Macy's was pretty limited compared with all the others I've ever been in - I'm really not surprised.
5catmom I always have better luck in the Ledgewood store than the Rockaway Mall one. I'm going to miss it !
Mariann If the mall owners charged a fair rent stores would stay but these people want to make a lot of money from rent right away as always its the lust for money that kills things
Caged Animal All of you saying businesses should stay away need to shut up. This area is so stagnant it is disgusting. As a young professional I can't be able I relocated to somewhere I need to go and drive 30 minutes FOR ANYTHING.
This area is so ass backwards compared to regions just 30 minutes down route 80. Business equas money and money equals growth and growth equals jobs and A BETTER STANDARD OF LIVING FOR EVERYONE.
Keep your baby boomer ways to yourself and let this place flourish. PLEASE.
I prefer a rural standard of living. Please move where you like the amenities and be happy.
I have to agree with bothe Concerned in HKT and Kepa on this one. While I don't want towerblock apartments and huge malls and general urban sprawl, it would be nice to have some stores that are actually non-trash like Dollar General. And kepa, you realize I could say please move to Kansas where there's lots of people like you.
Really sorry to hear that the Ledgewood Macy's will be closing. As most of my HL friends know that was always my after HL breakfast get-to- gether place to go to shop. I have a gift card from my daughter burning a hole in my pocket for Macys that my daughter gave me for Christmas.. Looks like if I am going to use that in Ledgewood, I better do it soon!
It has been on life support for some time. Had some good sales at that Macy's and the folks working there were all very nice.
iJay Nah LngValley. There's enough urban sprawl in this state for you, just drive 20 minutes east or better yet, move there. I value darker skies, quiet backroads, small farms, and enough wilderness to get lost enough.
That's why we live here and fight to protect the rural character. Let those who live here first and love it have the final word against needless development.
Ijay: That is exactly why I loved shopping the Ledgewood store. The store personnel would go out of their way to help you with anything you were having a problem finding or just questions in general no matter what else they were involved with at the time. Personal service it seems is really a rarity anymore.
Some people here are kind of like the anti-NIMBY.... You know, people who move next to an existing airport and then complain about the noise.
It isn't like larger towns/cities didn't exist when a few of the posters above moved here, so if they didn't like this "ass backwards" area, why did they choose to move here? Just to complain?
Mark Mc. For those that HAVE to live in Jersey because of work this area makes the state tolerable. I don't mind driving a ways for amenities- at least I don't have to live in those polluted, congested areas.
MommyinGreen having lived in Bergen and Passaic counties - and in NYC and in LA - this is the best-- so nothing is nearby - except the farms and the mountains - and the quiet - and the corn off the truck - and - I could go on and on - I LOVE it here- --- because it's here - not there
Concerned in hkt, I have no Idea why you moved out here when you would be happier just 30 Min's away. When I have to go 30 mins away, I say, "I am going down to the ant hills and watch the busys ants running around." As MommyinGreen said."This area makes the state tolerable." Amen to that. Many have left the cities and went to south Jersey when this little area is never considered. 110,000 people in the whole County suits me fine.
Old Gent Its like buying a home near an abandoned industrial site , and complaining that it's get redeveloped.
Philliesman 
ess I heard a rumor that Cabelas is looking to buy the mall, demolish it, and build a store there. Is there any known validity to this?
Darrin I don;t know if I could go to a Cabelas where you cannot stroll through the aisles of ammo and shop for exactly what you want.
I was at Gander mountain yesterday and I was like a kid in a candy store!
it would be good if cablea's built there, and it will be very interesting to see how they have to rearrange their standard floor plans and processes to adhere to NJ's strict, draconian, anti-business laws concerning the retailing of firearms, ammo and related equipment.
i hope they come, and i hope it sparks a re-evaluation of the anti-rights laws on the books here in New Jersey, many of which should be overturned in court
BrotherDog I just e mailed corporate suggesting they put Cabelas at the Ledgewood mall site. Maybe more suggestions should be sent. Can't hurt to try.
corporate@cabelas.com
Wild Angel Cabella's store map shows future plans to 2017. There are no stores in NJ and none planned in the future. The one planned for the Woodbury Commons area is the nearest one being built.
GC, Considering it was just something I heard (rumor), i wouldn't expect it to be on their 2 year projection
I'd guess there's little truth to it (unfortunately). They probably seek empty parcels of land, rather than buying out the leases of existing mall tenants and incurring all of the additional demolition costs.
Hey there people-
New to this forum. Roxbury resident my whole life.
You ask anybody who's lived here, grew up here, etc. when we say "The Mall" we're not talking about the Ledgewood Mall. We're talking about the Rockaway Mall. It's just pitiful and embarrassing. But it's the property manager's fault.
It sounds incredibly unlikely that they would open this hunting/sportings goods chain in the mall. I just don't think it would go over well with Ramseys within walking distance. Any mall nowadays is totally focused on the younger generations and the trends they follow. The Ledgewood Mall is not "cool". It's not a place you would admit you shop at. It's lame.
Yvonne 
Booster90 
Ms. Fishy I heard that L mall is being phased out and the owners are going to do something else with the real estate, but I don't remember what.
Brian Catanzaro They're building a Bass Pro Shops complex in Sayreville. Looks awesome.
http://t.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&appID=94&storeID=97&utm_referrer= https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
MeisterNJ my neighbor told me a Bridgewater firm bought the mall with plans to renovate. any one hear anything on this in the news/? I haven t seen anything myself recently.
stressed out Long Valley patch said 3 inverstors bought the property and plan on modernizing it. What that means, it doesn't say.
justwondering Read this yesterday
http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/08/mall_in_morris_county_acquired_companies_vow_to_mo.html#incart_river
JrzyGirl88 
1988LJ 
justsayin Tear the whole thing down and put in an M&M's-themed amusement park along with a Mega-CVS.
emaxxman A grocery store would be a tough sell with Shop Rite in the next mall. I thought Shop Rite fought most stores coming into their area. I would like to see a TJ's there, would love to see a Wegman's but doubt that's ever going to happen.
Bessie Anybody know what the Sports Authority building on the outskirts of the mall started as? It seems too big for a Sports Authority and a Men's Warehouse, and there is what appears to be a derelict garden center (?) on the side. I'm thinking maybe it was a Hechinger? Or a Rickel?
Tim Mischka 
RAS 
Lena They want to put a grocery anchor in there.. I really hope we finally get a whole foods out here- having allergies in this neck of the woods... have to shop in 2-3 places just so I can get things I need, and even then, I still have to order things on amazon from time to time.
Caiti Yep, it was definitely a Rickel Home Center. I worked mostly in the Parsippany one, but did work there a couple of times.
Phil D. I think Rickel's was inside the mall, near or in Marshall's location. Jamesway was in Walmart area, Arthurs was near Jamesway. Sports Authority building was added later, I think. There was a big house goods (lamps, bedding etc) where Ashley's is.
Justwondering is right. Rickels was inside the mall. The bldg that sports authority is in was added after
Dima I don't think so. I remember a big red Rickel's sign outside of the building. But I guess it still could have been inside.
It was the Barnes & Noble that was added later. That building was the Rickel Home Center, hence the "yard" in the back out of concrete block with the wire fence on top. It was never in or near the Marshall's location.
Fortunately I have a few old phone books, remember those? My July 1994 - June 1995 book has Rickel listed at 401E Rt. 10 Ledgewood, with no listings for Sports Authority (besides a "Sports Authority Lounge" nowhere near that address) and no Men's Wearhouse either. My phone book from two years later (July 1996 - June 1997) has no listing for a Rickel in Ledgewood, BUT does have a couple listing for Sports Authority stores, including one at..... you guessed it 401E Rt. 10 Ledgewood. So YES, the current Sports Authority IS in the building that was Rickel. I DID say I had worked in that building before, but apparently that wasn't evidence enough, lol.
The listing for the Jamesway store actually states "Ledgewood Mall", as their address, meaning in the mall itself.
Building was initially a Stop & Shop supermarket in the early 70's. Rickel was where Marshalls is now located
Just google Rickels in Ledgewood Mall - Wikipedia states that. Just as a side note, when I first moved here from Brooklyn, in the late '70s, we went to Jamesway in Ledgewood on a Sunday. Knowing nothing about "blue laws" I couldn't understand why so many of the bins of merchandise (especially clothing) were covered over with material like a sheet. I didn't know you couldn't buy certain items on Sunday. I thought they had a leak in their ceiling. We didn't have those restrictions where I lived. I also remember pushing my young child around the mall in a very large shopping cart from Rickels, where she could lay down and sleep. The carts were big because of the items a homestore would sell at that time where the other store carts were smaller.
Phil is 100% correct.
Wikipedia is nice and all but it is crowd sourced data, not always factual.
Phil is absolutely correct. I helped open the Roxbury Home Depot store in 1991, and was very aware of where our competitor was. Before we opened, we used to do our Home Depot cheer in the parking lot and would shout it in the direction of the Rickel store. :o)
Rich Not convinced I am wrong. We need a mall historian to settle this. Any thoughts?
Is it possible they wete in the mall first and then built and moved over to Sports Authority Building later? This is now bugging me.
That is possible. My memory is telling me that it was definitely where Sports Authority is now, but everything I found so far on the internet says that it was where Marshall's is, so now I'm really confused :o)
Anyone have access to this article?
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9603043442/sports-authority-acquires-rickel-home-center-unit
It might be related, but I can't view it.
Finast Supermarket was the first store to open in that building before Rickles re located from the store they had in the main part of the mall, which also housed Prince Range before it went out of business
It does state that Sports Authority aquired Rickels building, 52000 Sq ft but doesn't say Ledgewood site. Probably that one but still unanswered, were they in the mall?
justwondering
I'll look and see if I can find any older phone books that may provide a clue, however I worked for Rickel between May of 1981 to around the same month in 1986. I helped to set up a new store in CT during that time and would surely have been called upon to help with a move had they done one then. It IS possible that it had been moved from the Ledgwood Mall sometime before that time, but the Sports Authority building did indeed house Rickel. Of course the shopping carts sometimes traveled all around the lot, so you never knew where they'd get lost to.
One article I read did say that the Mall building itself was anchored by Rickel, but that was in an earlier time I believe. They may have abandoned the Mall itself for their own building and the space remaining divided out to other tenants. While this article mentions Rickel in the Mall building itself, we never had a toy department in the 80's or later:
http://www.newjerseyhills.com/print_only/columns/as-i-see-it-who-remembers-these-tidbits-of-roxbury/article_1f3ab50a-8e33-5dd1-a3ad-24afb9bc9fe4.html
Before that I'm not sure, but Rickel started as a Plumbing Supply, then expanded into other Hardware / Home Center areas. I think I may have an old work vest lol, but not sure if II have any old literature.
I wonder if there could have been a Bradlee's, a Shelby's where Marshall's is, or a Rockaway Sales perhaps???
In any case "Tim Mischka" just asked what the present "Sports Authority" building used to be. Now that we've all gotten our teeth into the mystery maybe we'll figure out how it came to be there. The Wikipedia article definitely has holes in it and is incorrect in a few spots it seems. Many other articles I've seen quote the Wikipedia article directly. Apparently though at its beginning in 1972 the Mall was partly anchored by a W.H. Grant store.
I definitely remember being able to buy records in the Ledgewood Mall and spent lots of time at the arcade.
It's too bad the Daily Record microfilm research I've been doing at the Morris County Library is from the 1910 era, otherwise I'd have probably come upon one of the ads for the Mall or stories about it.
Hello All - my mom was a Rickels employee for years - so much that around Roxbury, people knew her the "The Rickel's Lady" and I can confirm that they were in the mall where Ashley essentially is today and later moved to where Sports Authority. Don't recall exact years, but for certain they went from the one site to the other.
JPB JPB
Thanks for clearing that up! It helps to know that we were all essentially right about it. I may have known your Mom, but then again the only person I knew who worked in that store after they moved from the Parsippany store was a lady named "Isolde" who managed the Housewares Dept. in Parsippany in the very early 80's, before she moved to the Ledgewood one. I think it was much closer to her home.
I worked on the addition/renovation where preset day Sports Authority is,if my memory is correct it was winter 1987 and we did the outside block wall fence a loading dock,small addition and blocked up windows in front and I'm almost positive it was for Rickels.....don't know if that helps any.I also worked on the Sterns/Macy's I think that was 1994 and worked on the Barnes and Noble and that was 1993.
Dam The mall was anchored by Rickel (it was a very large store) and W.T. Grant when new. When Rickel started having financial problems, they downsized to the stand alone building that was originally Stop & Shop (was a very nice supermarket too, used to shop there - don't know why they closed). Rickels first started back in the early 50's in Paramus on Rt17 and was called "Do It Yourself Rickel" and was quite innovative for its day. Channel didn't come along until later.
Yeah, thanks all. Silly little thing, but it was still making me question my own memories. Glad to know at least that memory was intact.
That's interesting. So there was a Stop & Shop in Ledgewood back in the '70s? It's something I always thought of being in the Bergen county area until recently.
Aquarius I had to ask my grandmother and parents who have lived in the area forever. They all are saying rickels was in a building where kohls is now. There was a grocery store there at one point and it burnt down
Jdem Indeed, thanks to everyone who had fun trying to recollect all that history. Apparently, the Rickel that anchored the mall originally was one of Rickel's "Supermarts" as they were known in the early 60's and it was called the "Succasunna" store. Here's an article on the history of Rickel for anyone that's interested. It's well-written and uses sources other than the same general stuff that wikipedia & other sites have used:
http://research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/Rickel
I have to admit that I rarely ever stop in that mall any more. The last time may have been a year ago. I did go more often when the Music Den was there and before that when Circuit City was there, but when they left there wasn't much left of interest to me.
Here's a link to the website showing the plans for the reimagined "power center":
http://ledgewoodcommonsretail.com/
It looks as though Barnes & Noble will be leaving as that "pad" is shown to be available. There are two more "pads" available in that section of parking lot that they apparently will build on plus a new "outbuilding" area in the front corner of the parking lot on the Marshalls' side behind Red Lobster.
The whole area between the Walmart side and the Marshalls &Ashley's side is shown as "available" too. Looks as though all the small shops may be kicked out and a larger tenant is being sought. I did hear an unsubstantiated rumor that Cabelas may be coming to the Ledgewood area. If it did move in there and take over the midsection, I have the feeling that Ramsey Outdoor in the Roxbury Mall wouldn't last too long.
The Cabela's coming to Ledgewood rumor has been around for years. I think it is just a lot of wishful thinking on a lot of peoples' parts. I don't believe there are any plans for them to come to NJ as the purchasing atmosphere is quite different from other states due to all the laws on the books here (regarding firearms mostly). They were supposed to be a huge anchor at the Xanadu/American Dream by Giants Stadium but pulled out citing they would only reconsider if there was a really good opportunity for them to do well.
Joe Friday Joe Friday
I agree, that's why I said "unsubstantiated". Firearms purchases would be a significant slice of their pie I would imagine, though of course not all the pie.
Of course Walmart could lease that whole area and make it into a Supercenter or abandon part the end to a smaller store and make themselves the main/central focus of that whole Mall.
Is Barnes & Noble going? That would be a terrible shame. Hopefully it'll move inside the new mall.
1988LJ
I hope not either, since that would mean no actual bookstores except the used record & bookstore on Main. There used to be a Brentano's or something similar in the old Kmart Mall, then after that closed we had the small bookstore that had moved from Byram into the strip mall where the Pizza Hut is, but never anything larger, except the Barnes & Noble in Ledgewood. I don't know if they'll choose to renew their lease or not, but currently that pad does say "available" on their website, so who knows.
that's all they are doing? knocking out the Macy's portion of the building and keeping it an indoor mall? Huge mistake, indoor malls that size are fading away. It'll be vacant for years. Should have turned it into a nice outdoor mall or Outlet stores.
So many better design ideas out there, they could have kept the 3 anchor stores and just designed the space in between them better.
http://www.thegroveatshrewsbury.com/directory.php
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/new-jersey-more/item/85247-gloucester-premium-outlets-
Darwin- No, they're turning it into a strip mall, which with the NJ weather, is not necessarily a good thing. I was hoping for an updated indoor mall or an outlet mall like the ones in Tannersville, PA. This is really no different to the International Trade Center or the Kohl's/Marshall's (Formerly Sears) mall in Mansfield.
I recently read an interesting article about the decline of "middle class" malls. It appears that those similar to Short Hills (Nordstrom & NM as anchor stores) are the ones doing really well but the rest are failing.
Bonv An interesting read....
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20160103_Traditional_mall_anchors_are_fading_away.html
RIP Sports Authority:
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2016/05/sports_authority_to_close_all_stores_nationwide.html#incart_most-read_
From Tapinto Roxbury:
Fancy New Name for Ledgewood Mall
Meet. Eat. Shop. Credits: Roxbury Township
Bulldozer for Roxbury Barnes & Noble; But Bookworms Needn't Panic
EVENTS
Lake Hopatcong Grand Prix
GIVING BACK
Parks, Seniors and Firehouse Get Attention on Roxbury's "9/11 Day of Service"
By FRED J. AUN
March 10, 2016 at 3:04 PM
ROXBURY, NJ – At least they didn’t spell it “shoppes.”
Nevertheless, good old Ledgewood Mall will soon be addressed in a more upscale fashion. Are you ready, Roxbury, for The Shops at Ledgewood Commons?
Ready or not, that’s the moniker chosen by the mall’s new owners.
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And while you’re at it, lose that proletarian word “mall.” The place, according to the owners, will become a retail “open-air power center,” one that was “reimagined” and “redefined.”
The word “removed” is not part of the marketing hyperbole, but removal is what the future holds for the piece of the mall that previously served as home to a Macy’s. Plans call for razing the structure. Roxbury Mayor Jim Rilee said he was told the building, which juts out from the rest of the structure, impedes traffic flow.
Traffic flow is important because removal is also in store for the indoor corridors at the 43-year-old shopping center. The goal of the proposed “open-air power center” is to have shoppers drive up and park near their destination store. All access to stores will come from outside doors, as is the case with the nearby Roxbury Mall.
The new owners, JV Partnership, have yet to announce any new tenants. Their plans call for most of the existing retailers to remain, including the Walmart, Ashley Furniture, Marshalls, Sports Authority, Ruby Tuesday, Men’s Wearhouse, Red Lobster, Wendy’s and Pizza Hut.
Curiously, the plans do not mention the Barnes & Noble store. The Ledgewood Commons plans show the store as “Pad B” and have it colored as being available for lease.
Barnes & Noble has been steadily shutting-down stores, but the company today said it has no plans to leave Ledgewood. "We have a long-term lease at our Ledgewood, N.J. store for another three years and we have an option to extend well beyond that," said David Deason, the chain's vice president of development, in an email.
If the bookstore leaves, it will be moving out of a site described by the new owners as a “well-anchored property (that) is an established destination to meet, eat and shop. The site, they say will be “modernized retail in the Heart of Morris County” that is “situated in a notable trade corridor with strong area demographics” including 34,106 people and nearly 13,000 households, with an average yearly income of nearly $138,000, within three miles.
Told about the new name, one longtime Roxbury resident laughed. "No," she said. "It will always be Ledgewood Mall to me."
"Their plans call for most of the existing retailers to remain, including the Walmart, Ashley Furniture, Marshalls, Sports Authority, Ruby Tuesday, Men’s Wearhouse, Red Lobster, Wendy’s and Pizza Hut."
heh so much for 3 of those stores. and I don't even know why that Walmart is there when the one in ITC is bigger and nicer.
So basically it will be like every other shopping complex around...itc, where Walmart is in rockaway, hackettstown etc. It would be cool to have something like wiregrass in Florida or a center set up like the crossings.
Regarding Rickel's and whether it was in the mall or not, I remember a Rickel's there long before the mall. It was next to a grocery store and Rickel's had this little green neon sign. For whatever reason, that green sign is burned into my memory - I grew up there from the mid-60s to mid-70s (ages two until 12). I believe this was the area in which the future mall was built. My mom used to work at medical offices immediately to the south of the grocery store, and I remember seeing that sign from the backseat of our family car. The funny thing is the grocery store had a much larger and brighter sign, but I can't remember the store. Acme maybe? But that Rickel's sign is clear in my memory - in fact so much so, that when I hear the Sound of Silence and the verses about a neon light, my mind always goes back to Rickel's.
Paul 
Htown Yes, Htown, it's 100% absolutely true that Olive Garden is confirmed in that location. To repeat, the new Wegman's is positively guaranteed. ;-)
Whip Whip - That's already there on the other side of the old circle. And don't tell me you don't know what I mean. ;-)
Unfortunately, there aren't going to be anymore indoor malls, they haven't built one in ages. You got the problem of stores required to pay for common area maintenance, which drives up the cost, that would include heating/cooling of the overall mall, etc...Then the problem of mall rats who just come to chill out and smoke by the entrances, and never buy anything except the $1 cheeseburger at the food court Wendy's. The young kids kind of scare off a lot of the adults when the adults don't have to go there for anything and in the winter people go there to get out of the cold, or summer to get free AC, again, hardly buying anything. It's not very profitable for malls to do that anymore. That's why all the open-air malls with strips adjoining box stores. Less of a money-loser because you'll mostly only attract people who come there to actually buy something.
Beavis I don't know where they are getting that a Trader Joe or an Olive Garden is going in there. Barnes & Noble is moving to the old Sports Authority, according to the news reports I've read.
If you go onto the websites of Wegmans or Trader Joes, it does not show a store opening soon in our area.
Luca This area does not have the overall income level to support Wegmans or Trader Joes...you have to go to a higher income area to shop both of these stores.
ss2cats Morris County is usually in the top 10 list of the richest counties in the nation, along with Hunterdon. I'd think there would be enough money there for a Trader Joe's or a Wegmans.
Wegmans would be awesome. The one going up near 287 in Hanover seems to be progressing.
It is a shame what has happened to that mall as it had some great stores in there and wish it still had more tenants. Was surprised Ruby Tuesday is no longer there as that seemed to get good business. If the rumor is true about Barnes and Noble going where the Sports Authority is, that is great to hear.
Also still disappointed about A&P being gone as there were loss of jobs of employees in our area, and vacancies of buildings in Washington on Route 31 (that was a nice, new store) and on Route 46 (which was another great store).
jrsemom “For the last two years, we’ve been carefully designing a plan to transform this prime commercial property into a place where locals can meet, eat and shop,” Advance Realty Founder and CEO Peter Cocoziello said. “We’re grateful and excited that Roxbury Township supports our vision for the property, and we look forward to delivering a world-class shopping destination."
So far, according to their site plan, the brands on board for this "world-class shopping destination" are Walmart, Ashley Furniture, Marshall's, Men's Wearhouse, Red Lobster and Wendy's.
To be fair, I believe they all are current tenants and have survived the continued downfall of the Ledgewood Mall... but there's hardly anything remotely "world-class" about any of them...
ianimal You'll never see a Wegman's or Trader Joe's in Roxbury due to the Romano Shop Rite stronghold. Sad really, as Shop Rite is like shopping in a third world country with their horrible produce sections.
Mickey 
infogirl I owned a snack bar in the Ledgewood Mall between 1979 and 1982 called The Tastebud. It was a burger and sandwich joint. I ran it with my sister and my brother-in-law. We were on the corner near where Walmart is now. Back then it was Jamesway (Kind of like a KMart) and then Arthur's (A big jewlery store) at one end and Rickel's at the other end. Ask you parents about The Tastebud.
Lenny Lenny
What happened after 1982 ? The money wasn't there , rent went up , or you just chose to do something else ? just curious.
Cellomom GC-why not just post a link? searching Home Goods brings up many unwanted results.
UserFriendly Please go here, UserFriendly and Cellomom.
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/799862
3wbdwnj Flo
We opened before Rockaway Mall was around. Initially, we were very busy. Rockaway took some foot traffic away and then a place called Harold's opened up on the circle where the drive-in was. That also took some business. The entire time I was there the place was never more than half full of tenants. I don't remember all of the stores but along with Rickels, Jamesway and Arthur's there was The Fashion Bug, Kodak Jewelers (my brother-in-law managed), Brentano's Book Store, a card store, pizza place, sit-down restaurant, a drape/curtain store (my other brother-in-law ran), JS Raub shoes and Thom-Mcan. There were probably a few more but that was over 30 years ago. Business slowly fell off with the lack of foot traffic. However, we had a very loyal bunch of customers from the mall staff. Lots of funny and interesting stories. Ask some old folks if they remember The Tastebud.
I drove by this weekend (Went to the book store) they are tearing down were Macys was... what are the long term plans? and wow that parking lot is in bad shape...
LibertyThinker Retail is dead.
Amazon wounded it, $15hr minimum wage will kill it off
Malls will be fewer and far between.
Everything now healthcare based as boomers are aging.
More CVS, Urgent Care.
More automation in stores with less staff.
Dodgeball Lenny, I remember the Tastebud! I used to stop by for a snack and shopping after doing classwork in the computer lab at CCM on Saturday mornings back in 1981-1982.
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/roxbury/sections/business-and-finance/articles/dsw-five-below-and-others-coming-to-former-ledgewood-mall-in-roxbury
The developers converting the former Ledgewood Mall into The Shops at Ledgewood Commons has signed contracts with a number of retailers, including Five Below, Ulta Beauty and DSW, it was announced on Wednesday.
Appearing before the Roxbury Planning Board, representatives of the developers said other companies have signed tenancy commitments but did not want their names revealed. They include a retailer poised to occupy the space formerly used by Ruby Tuesday. Roxbury Councilman Jim Rilee said he believes a Starbucks and a Chipotle restaurant have also agreed to set up shop in the new mall.
The latest ;
https://www.nj.com/news/2019/10/nj-mall-getting-a-makeover-and-a-five-guys-starbucks-and-chipotle.html
97XBAM God forbid they did not renovate already what they had as this is going to be a food court mall that will make Route 10 at that location a traffic nightmare. The Walmart that was there was fine and not as trashy as the Hackettstown one, they should have tried to find new tenants for the Macy’s they knocked down and could have replaced Ruby Tuesday’s with another restaurant mentioned in the article in the old location.
Would have been nice to keep the old mall, repair it and leave everything else as is. Not shopping there.
Ledgewood Walmart better than Hackettstown! LOL LMAO The Mansfield Walmart is clean and organized. Any time I found myself in Ledgewood Walmart, clothes were thrown about, even on the floor! A seasonal item that I wanted, was never in the same place twice. So many center aisle displays, you can't get by. Just such a messy store! I sure hope they improve on the management there and get the new store in better shape!
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