Bridgewater Commons

Bridgewater Commons
Southern side of the Bridgewater Commons
Location 400 Commons Way Bridgewater,NJ 08807
Opening date February 26, 1988
Developer The Hahn Company
Management Brookfield Properties Retail Group
Owner Brookfield Properties Retail Group
No. of stores and services 170 [1]
No. of anchor tenants 3: Bloomingdales, Lord and Taylor, Macy's
Total retail floor area 970,000 ft²
No. of floors 3
Parking Parking lot and 3-story parking garage east of AMC
Public transit access NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 65, 114
Website BridgewaterCommons.com

Coordinates: 40°35′11″N 74°37′06″W / 40.586492°N 74.618415°W / 40.586492; -74.618415 Bridgewater Commons is a fully enclosed mall located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The mall is located at the intersection of Route 22 and Route 202/206 and borders I-287. The mall opened in 1988 and has a gross leasable area of 900,000 sq ft (84,000 m2).[2][3] Bridgewater Commons is owned by Brookfield Properties Retail Group.

The mall was expanded in 2005 and 2006 to include a lifestyle center called "The Village at Bridgewater Commons". It is anchored by Crate & Barrel and Maggiano's Little Italy, and contains 15 other stores and restaurants.

The mall's anchors are Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor and Macy's.

Dining and entertainment

As of November 2008, the Food Court has reopened[4] as have some of the restaurants within. Changes to the food court consist of new lighting, relocated and new dining space (openings looking down to the second floor have been closed off), new flooring, new seating and renovated eateries. The former space of the Food Court was renovated. In addition to the food court, there are additional dining and entertainment options

History

Bridgewater Commons opened in February 1988 with anchor stores Macy's, Hahnes and Sterns. By 1991, Hahnes would change to Lord and Taylor and in 2002, Sterns to Bloomingdales. The mall complex pursued a major expansion in 1991 to add two eight-story office buildings to the complex, which would include 578,000 sq ft (53,700 m2). of office space and a 300-room hotel. The effort was initiated as part of a longstanding urban renewal project.[5] By 2000, with a 347-room Bridgewater Marriott Hotel already under the construction, the mall's developers pushed ahead to develop the office towers planned for the complex.[6] The two towers later opened, occupied mostly by Sanofi-Aventis.

Since opening, mall management and Somerset Medical Center have sponsored a HealthHike mall walking program to give walkers an indoors, secured, and climate-controlled environment in which to walk. Anyone can obtain a name tag to enter the mall starting at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday. The program also includes a monthly meeting at 8:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month from October through June to discuss health-related topics. Since opening, the mall has also featured an annual Christmas display and kids photo opportunity with Santa Claus in addition to a photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny around Easter time.[7][8]

In 1993, Bridgewater Commons jumped on the bandwagon, becoming one of the first malls in the state to ban smoking, joining 300 of 1800 malls nationwide that prohibited smoking on mall grounds.[9]

The mall has become a major focus in Bridgewater and an attraction throughout the area, bringing new residents to the township and shoppers to the mall which "dominates the retail industry in Somerset County." You can often find students of Immaculata High School dressed in their blue and white uniforms or students of Somerville High School walking to and around the mall right after school as it is so close by.[10]

Troubled owner GGP[11] filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2009[12] but operations will continue as normal.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Bridgewater Commons".
  2. ↑ "International Council of Shopping Centers: Bridgewater Commons". October 3, 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Rockaway Townsquare". Simon Property Group, Inc. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  4. ↑ Heyman, Lois. "Bridgewater Commons food court reopen for business". Gannett. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Hoping to Defy the Odds in Bridgewater; Developers Bet On Office Center, Citing Location", The New York Times, February 17, 1991. p. R8
  6. ↑ Garbarine, Rachelle (May 21, 2000). "In the Region/ New Jersey; Bridgewater Commons Is Entering the Home Stretch Offices and hotel will complete the master plan for the mall". The New York Times. pp. RE9.
  7. ↑ Richardson, Kara. "Central Jersey retailers hoping for busy Black Friday". Gannett. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  8. ↑ Loyer, Susan. "Local walkers get healthy at Bridgewater mall". Gannett. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  9. ↑ "2 Big Malls Ban Smoking". The New York Times. October 8, 1993. pp. B6.
  10. ↑ Cheslow, Jerry (December 29, 2002). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Bridgewater, N.J.; Where the Downtown Is a Shopping Mall Residents are drawn by good schools, low taxes, housing variety". The New York Times. pp. J5.
  11. ↑ Verdon, Joan. "Surviving a mall malaise". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  12. ↑ Holzer, Jessica. "US Lawmakers Sound Alarm About Comml Real Estate Mkt". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 12, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  13. ↑ MacKenzie, Pamela. "Business to remain as usual at Bridgewater, Woodbridge malls after parent company files for bankruptcy". Gannett. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
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