N.J. mall getting a makeover, adding Five Guys, Starbucks and Chipotle

Forty miles west of the soon-to-open American Dream mall, a shopping center in Roxbury with a much lower profile is being rebuilt and rebranded.

When work is completed, perhaps a year or so from now, the Shops at Ledgewood Commons will offer a dramatic contrast with the 47-year-old Ledgewood Mall that it’s replacing.

Three companies announced in 2015 a joint venture to acquire and modernize the Route 10 mall.

The Shops at Ledgewood Commons will be the culmination of that vision, explained Michael Shadiack, chair of Roxbury’s economic development committee.

“Some may say this project is taking too long. The way we looked at it, we wanted to make sure it looked right,” said Shadiack, who also is vice chair of the township planning board.

At 470,000 square feet, the Shops at Ledgewood Commons will be about one-sixth the size of American Dream in East Rutherford, the long-awaited shopping and entertainment complex opening in several stages starting this Friday.

Much of the mall is blocked off by fencing, with numerous signs directing visitors around construction while offering a reminder that stores remain open, such as longtime restaurants Wendy’s and Red Lobster.

In an interview Friday, Shadiack provided an overview of the project, which received planning board approval in February.

Walmart is closed - its building was torn down last spring - but is being rebuilt and modernized.

The longtime Barnes & Noble is open but similarly will be demolished. The book store will get prominent space in a new building with a second current tenant, Men’s Wearhouse, along with new arrivals DSW (the acronym for Designer Shoe Warehouse), an Ulta beauty store, a Five Below kids’ store, and perhaps others.

The mall’s lineup of restaurants is being expanded to include Five Guys, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panda Express Chinese Kitchen.

Two current tenants, the Marshalls department store and Ashley HomeStore, will be located near new arrivals such as 24-Hour Fitness.

“It’s a very large project and a lot has gone into it," said Shadiack, an attorney and Paterson native who moved 25 years ago to Roxbury.

The owners of the property are affiliates of Advance Realty Investors, which recently announced it had received a $72.5 million construction loan.

A corporate spokesperson provided a statement from Alex Cocoziello, principal and managing director for Advance Realty Investors.

“Once complete, this center will serve as the model for how struggling retail centers, through great partnerships and creativity, can be successfully repositioned,” Cocoziello said.

The Ledgewood Mall was a pretty big deal when it debuted in 1972, at a time when enclosed shopping centers were a fairly new phenomenon in Morris County.

It wasn’t until 1977 that the much larger Rockaway Townsquare mall opened 9 miles to the east in Rockaway Township. That mall has grown to cover 1.25 million square feet, and in 2017 was ranked the ninth more valuable mall in New Jersey.

Competition from both Rockaway Townsquare and the International Trade Center, less than five miles away in Mount Olive, has impacted the Ledgewood Mall, Shadiack acknowledged.

“Now you had people that would have come here stopping at the other two,” Shadiack said, explaining that is why an effort is being made to attract tenants that do not have a presence at either competing mall.

Accessibility has been another challenge.

While the other two malls are right off Route 80, the Ledgewood Mall is two miles away from the main highway through the region. For motorists heading west on Route 10, there is no direct left-turn onto Mary Louise Avenue, which offers access to and from the mall.

Shadiack said the state Department of Transportation recently approved a left-turn from Route 10 West onto that side road, but it is not clear when it might be constructed.

At the mall, buildings that previously housed Macy’s and Circuit City have been taken down. The building that formerly housed the Sports Authority is partially demolished.

The former Ruby Tuesday restaurant still stands, and though the lettering has been removed, the imprint remains visible.

Similar to the American Dream, which is opening in 4 stages, Shadiack said the rebranded mall may debut in up to 8 stages.

The Walmart is expected to be a big draw.

“It’s really a prototype store that Walmart has been rolling out. We’re really fortunate to be getting one of them,” Shadiack said.

The goal is to have everything up and running by 2021, he said.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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