Livingston Mall

Livingston Mall
The northwest entrance to the mall, between the former Sears location and the Barnes & Noble.
Location112 Eisenhower Pkwy
Livingston, NJ 07039
Coordinates40°46′37″N 74°21′14″W / 40.777°N 74.354°W / 40.777; -74.354
Opening date1972[1]
DeveloperN. K. Winston Corp.[2]
OwnerKohan Retail Investment Group
ArchitectCharles Luckman and Associates[2]
Stores and services73
Anchor tenants2
Floor area968,820 sq ft (90,006 m2)
Floors2
Public transit NJ Transit bus: 70, 73, 873
Community Coach bus: 77
Livingston Express Shuttle
Websitelivingston-mall.com

Livingston Mall is a two-level shopping mall located in Livingston, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The mall has a gross leasable area of 968,820 sq ft (90,006 m2).[3] Located near the Passaic River close to neighboring Morris County, it serves customers from Essex, Morris and Union counties. The mall is anchored by Macy's and Barnes & Noble.

The mall was still open in early February 2026, but with the numbers of shoppers diminishing and key anchors planning to close, the mall has been described as a "zombie mall" that was "quiet, dim and stripped of the crowds" during the holiday shopping season, making the mall seem "basically dead".[4][5]

History

Livingston Mall was planned in the late 1960s and opened for business in stages starting with Bamberger's in 1971,[6] followed by the mall proper itself in 1972 with additional anchor stores Sears and Hahne & Company.[2] The mall benefited from the migration of population in Northern New Jersey to suburban and exurban areas, and the exodus of shoppers and stores from downtown Newark, once Northern New Jersey's premiere shopping destination, but that had been in serious decline since the July 1967 race riots. Both Bamberger's and Hahne & Co. had massive flagship stores in downtown Newark at the time of the mall opening. Sears also had a store on Elizabeth Avenue in Newark's once popular South Ward.

In 1986, the Bamberger's store transformed into Macy's.[7] Around this time the M. Epstein store was converted to an annex for Macy's. In 1989, Hahne's gave way to Lord & Taylor when its parent company, which owned both banners, decided to retire the Hahne's brand.[8]

Decline and redevelopment

The dawn of the early 2020s saw several traditional department store retailers update their brick-and-mortar formats after being encroached upon to a degree by several digital retailers in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2020, Sears announced that it would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its traditional brick-and-mortar format.[9] In August 2020, Lord & Taylor said that it would be closing the Livingston Mall location as one 24 stores nationwide as a direct result of the pandemic.[10] The Livingston location was one of them.[11]

A plan for the 50-year-old Livingston Mall to be refreshed was authorized by the Livingston Township in March 2021.[12] In March 2025, the Township Council adopted a plan for the mall to be redeveloped as high-density housing.[13]

On January 6, 2026, it was announced that Barnes & Noble would be moving to the nearby Livingston Shopping Center by mid-to-late 2027.[14] On January 8, 2026, Macy's announced that it would be closing as part of a plan to close 14 stores by the end of the first quarter, describing the location as "underproductive".[15][16]

On February 10, 2026, the mall was temporarily closed due to a burst pipe, with “temporarily closed” notices posted on the entrances, along with a banner alert on the mall’s website reading “Livingston Mall is temporarily closed. You can still shop at Macy's and Barnes & Noble; both are OPEN with regular hours”. According to a post by Hidden Treasures on Facebook from February 17, stores had to remain closed the following week “due to an ongoing maintenance issue involving a burst pipe in the Livingston Mall”.[17] It remains unclear when or if the mall will reopen.

Location

Livingston Mall is located at the intersection of Eisenhower Parkway and South Orange Avenue, and is accessible from Exit 4A off Interstate 280, Route 10, Route 24, Interstate 78, and Interstate 287. Bus service is provided by NJ Transit's 70, 73, and 873 routes. Coach USA's Community Coach 77 bus also serves the mall. The Township of Livingston operates the Livingston Express Shuttle which serves the mall and the South Orange station.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Major Shopping Malls - Four fast facts eight malls in 1996". The Star-Ledger. February 4, 1996. p. 282. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Livingston Mall debuts". The Herald News. August 2, 1972. p. 12. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  3. ^ International Council of Shopping Centers: Livingston Mall Archived 2007-03-13 at the Wayback Machine, accessed September 21, 2006
  4. ^ Marshall, Nyah. "These depressing N.J. malls are basically dead, shoppers say. Can anything save them?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 19, 2025. Accessed December 28, 2025. "But inside two of New Jersey’s largest indoor malls, it feels like the Grinch got there first. On recent weekday afternoons, Hamilton Mall and Livingston Mall seemed as though the season had passed them by. They were quiet, dim and stripped of the crowds and energy that once defined them."
  5. ^ Munoz, Daniel; and Katzban, Nicholas. "A zombie mall is gasping in North Jersey, hit by a 'perfect storm'", The Record, February 9, 2026. Accessed February 10, 2026. "Google the phrase 'dead malls in New Jersey' and you’ll be hit with a few contenders — but a standout in North Jersey is Livingston Mall. With the Macy’s anchor store closing sometime in 2026, and Barnes & Noble expected to leave sometime in 2027, Livingston Mall is on its last breaths....But analysts interviewed by NorthJersey.com all agreed that Livingston Mall is a 'dead mall.'"
  6. ^ "Bamberger's Opens Store". New York Daily News. New York, New York. October 10, 1971. p. 365.
  7. ^ "Bamberger's officially declares name changes to Macy's". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. September 4, 1986. p. 98.
  8. ^ "Hahne's changing New Jersey stores". Staten Island Advance. Staten Island, New York. January 12, 1989. p. 92.
  9. ^ Accardi, Nicolette (February 6, 2020). "Sears will close stores in Livingston and New Brunswick". NJ.com.
  10. ^ Thomas, Lauren; Rattner, Nate (August 20, 2020). "Lord & Taylor is closing two dozen stores. Here's a map of where they are". CNBC.
  11. ^ Accardi, Nicolette (August 20, 2020). "Lord & Taylor permanently closing 2 more N.J. stores". NJ.com.
  12. ^ Santola, Danielle (March 21, 2021). "Livingston Township Authorizes Redevelopment Study of Livingston Mall Property". TAPinto.
  13. ^ Ordinance 07-2025 An Ordinance Of The Township Of Livingston Approving The Livingston Mall Redevelopment Plan For Block 6002, Lots 1 And 1.01, Township of Livingston, adopted March 24, 2025. Accessed September 10, 2025
  14. ^ Burd, Joshua (January 6, 2026). "Barnes & Noble leases 25,000 sq. ft. for new Livingston store in deal by RIPCO, VanRock". Real Estate NJ.
  15. ^ "Macy's shrinking again with new round of store closings". Axios. January 8, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  16. ^ Munoz, Daniel. "Macy's will close two North Jersey stores. See where and why", The Record, January 9, 2026. Accessed January 9, 2026. "Iconic Macy’s — an anchor department store chain for shopping malls across the U.S. — is closing two 'underproductive'” stores in New Jersey this year. One is at the Livingston Mall in Essex County and the other is a “small format” store that opened at the Interstate Shopping Center in Ramsey just over a year ago, a spokesperson confirmed by email on Friday, Jan. 9."
  17. ^ "Hidden Treasures' Post on Facebook". February 17, 2026.
  18. ^ Livingston Express Shuttle, Livingston, New Jersey. Accessed November 25, 2025. "Livingston Express Shuttle service offers round-trip transportation between the Livingston Mall and the South Orange Train station."
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.