As most of you probably know already – “the mall” is one of the aspects of our lives that is starting to fade. In some areas at least.

While some NJ malls (such as Garden State Plaza, Short Hills Mall, or even to some extent Bridgewater Mall) are all doing okay – it seems that others are not faring as well.

Phillipsburg Mall – which is technically half in Lopatcong, NJ and half in Pohatcong, NJ (and not even physically in Phillipsburg itself!), is one of those “dying malls.”

You can tell when things are bad when “Shoe Dept” and cell phone stores are listed as some of the top tenants.

Kind of sad to see the utterly slow decline of these once-vibrant centers of commerce and mingling.

Most can agree that online shopping is the number one reason why places like this are fledgling. But there are many contributing factors. Everything from the general economy, the poor management of some “anchor” stores, and government regulations.

You can say that the strong survive, the weak fail, and there’s always something new around the corner. Even foreign businesses, etc. Heck, there’s a new ALDI just down the road. I think they’re opening up thousands of new stores.

Perhaps 90% of the country’s malls will go away. That’s how the market works. Until the next big thing comes.

Below is a great video from two and a half years ago – from Dan Bell. He has this thing called the Dead Mall Series, and Phillipsburg Mall was one of his stops. I recall that even more stores are gone from that place since the video was shot.

What would happen to the Phillipsburg Mall space?

I wonder what the timeline is here before this mall cannot sustain being open any longer. It’s a massive space.

A quick calculation of just the mall space + parking is approximately 50 acres of land. Or over 2 million square feet.

What is sustainable in an area that cannot sustain a shopping mall? Residential living? Office space? Highly doubtful.

Our guess is that this type of space would sit vacant for a very long time if (or when) if finally ceases to remain open.

It always seems to be that way. No one wants to pay the “asking price,” and it remains unoccupied for years, or even decades – until the price is finally right.

Kind of sad – but also nothing surprising. These types of large-scale shifts have been happening for eternity. We only seem to talk about the most recent ones. Read a few history books, and other atrocities in humanity make this Real Estate quagmire pale in comparison.

Have a great day!

About the author

NJroute22

NJroute22 (site admin) is an avid traveler along NJ Route 22 (and almost all of central New Jersey!) Family man, pet lover, and property owner who has a natural curiosity for everything around.