Fashion Center

Fashion Center is a retail shopping center in Paramus, New Jersey, United States. It opened on February 15, 1967, as a conventional enclosed shopping mall serving the affluent Bergen County market. The original complex was developed by Associated Dry Goods, whose retail interests included Lord & Taylor, and was anchored by Lord & Taylor at the north end and B. Altman and Company at the south end. The two department stores were connected by an approximately 1,500-foot indoor shopping arcade, giving the property the format and identity of a traditional suburban mall. The center prospered during the 1970s, when Paramus was becoming one of the New York metropolitan area’s most important retail concentrations. Its contemporary interior design and central fountain were prominent elements of the original environment and were incorporated into the mall’s former visual identity. The property later faced increasing competition from larger and more modern destinations, including Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus Park, The Shops at Riverside, and The Outlets at Bergen Town Center. B. Altman’s decline and eventual closure removed one of the center’s principal anchors, while other tenants gradually departed. By the 1980s and 1990s, the property was often characterized as a declining or “dead” mall, with Lord & Taylor remaining as its principal department-store presence. The ownership and management response was a multiyear conversion from an enclosed mall into a collection of individually accessed retail buildings. The vacant B. Altman space was subdivided in 1996. Planning for a broader conversion began in 2001, and Best Buy opened at the center in 2003. Lord & Taylor followed with a new-format presence in 2004. The general mall entrance was closed and renovated in the late 2000s; by 2009, the former interior common area had effectively been eliminated, with stores operating through their own exterior entrances. Fairway Market subsequently occupied much of the former interior footprint, reinforcing the center’s new open-access shopping-center format. Fashion Center has continued to experience tenant turnover reflecting wider changes in department stores, specialty retail, supermarkets, and large-format commerce. A Lord & Taylor home store opened in 2011 but closed in 2013, and the space later became a World Market location. Fairway Market’s planned departure was announced in 2020, during the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. An Amazon grocery concept opened in the former supermarket space in July 2022, but that physical retail operation later ceased as Amazon reduced or shuttered its corresponding store format. Lord & Taylor announced the closure of all its stores in August 2020, and its Fashion Center location closed on February 27, 2021. The former Toys “R” Us site, after use by Spirit Halloween, became a Big Lots store in 2019; Big Lots later closed and the space was replaced by Barnes & Noble in November 2023. The center has approximately 446,000 square feet of gross leasable area and has historically been small relative to the region’s major enclosed malls, with fewer than 15 stores at its peak. Current and recent occupants have included Best Buy, T.J. Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Applebee’s, and other smaller businesses, although the tenant mix changes over time. Bergen County and Paramus blue laws impose unusually restrictive Sunday trading rules. As a result, Fashion Center is generally closed on Sundays, with Applebee’s identified as an exception. The property’s present identity is therefore less that of a fashion-led enclosed mall than of a locally oriented, multi-tenant retail center built around durable big-box, off-price, bookstore, restaurant, and service uses.

Before development, the Fashion Center site consisted largely of marsh and grassland. Local residents historically trapped muskrats in the area and sold their fur. The property opened on February 15, 1967, during the expansion of suburban retail in Bergen County. Associated Dry Goods developed the mall, which was designed to attract affluent consumers through department-store anchors, a contemporary interior, and an unusually long enclosed arcade. Lord & Taylor occupied the north end, while B. Altman and Company anchored the south end. A separate Best & Company building was constructed in the parking area while that chain was liquidating; it subsequently housed Britt’s and later Toys “R” Us. Fashion Center performed strongly during the 1970s, but its competitive position weakened as larger regional malls expanded and newer shopping destinations attracted tenants and shoppers. The decline of B. Altman removed a key anchor, and the center’s relatively small scale made it increasingly difficult to compete with larger properties. By the 1980s, Lord & Taylor was the only remaining major department-store anchor. The vacant B. Altman premises, measuring approximately 180,000 square feet, were subdivided in 1996. Beginning in 2001, the owners pursued a fundamental repositioning. Rather than maintain an enclosed mall with a shrinking interior tenant base, they planned a center composed of separate stores with exterior entrances. Best Buy opened in 2003 and required changes to portions of the former mall access pattern. Lord & Taylor adopted a similar exterior-oriented arrangement in 2004. The general mall entrance was closed in late 2008, renovated, and reopened in 2009, but the original interior common space was no longer the center’s organizing feature. Fairway Market later occupied most of the former interior area, completing the practical “de-malling” process. Subsequent history has been marked by changing anchor and junior-anchor uses. Lord & Taylor opened a home-goods store in 2011, which closed in 2013; World Market later took over the space. The former Toys “R” Us building became a Spirit Halloween seasonal location after Toys “R” Us entered bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2018. Big Lots opened there in 2019, before itself departing around 2023. Barnes & Noble opened in the building in November 2023. Fairway Market’s Fashion Center store was slated to close in 2020. Its planned May 15 closing was delayed into the summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon opened a grocery market in the space on July 21, 2022, but the physical grocery operation later closed as Amazon withdrew from that store format. Lord & Taylor announced in August 2020 that it would close all 38 stores; the Fashion Center store ceased operations on February 27, 2021. The property remains a relatively compact retail center of approximately 446,000 square feet of gross leasable area. It is owned by Willner Realty of Pennsylvania. Its surviving and recent occupants have included Best Buy, T.J. Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Applebee’s, and smaller businesses. The center’s operating pattern is shaped by Paramus and Bergen County blue laws, under which retail activity is generally prohibited on Sundays; Applebee’s has been identified as an exception. Fashion Center’s history illustrates the adaptation of an aging enclosed mall into a flexible, externally accessed retail property.

1. 2023Barnes & Noble opens

   Barnes & Noble opened in November after the closure of Big Lots.

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2. 2022Amazon grocery market opens

   Amazon opened a grocery market in the former Fairway Market space on July 21.

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3. 2019Big Lots opens in former Toys “R” Us building

   Big Lots replaced the seasonal Spirit Halloween use in the former Toys “R” Us space.

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4. 2011Lord & Taylor Home opens

   Lord & Taylor opened a home-goods format at the center; the store later closed in 2013.

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5. 2009Open-access format is established

   The former interior mall circulation was effectively removed, leaving stores accessible from outside.

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6. 2003Best Buy opens

   Best Buy became a major new occupant during the center’s repositioning.

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7. 2001De-malling plans begin

   Ownership began planning to convert the enclosed mall into a collection of stores with independent exterior entrances.

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8. 1996Former B. Altman space is subdivided

   The approximately 180,000-square-foot vacant B. Altman space was divided for new uses.

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9. 1967Fashion Center opens

   The shopping center opened on February 15 with Lord & Taylor and B. Altman and Company as its principal anchors.

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A neighborhood and regional shopping center serving Paramus and Bergen County, positioned around accessible multi-category retail rather than luxury fashion. Its current format is an open-access collection of stores, restaurants, and service businesses, reflecting the property’s conversion from a traditional enclosed mall.

• Best BuyConsumer electronics retailer2003

  Best Buy is one of the center’s principal current anchors, offering consumer electronics, computing products, appliances, entertainment hardware, accessories, and related services. Its arrival in 2003 was important to the property’s transition from an enclosed department-store mall toward an open-access retail center.

• T.J. MaxxOff-price apparel and home retailer

  T.J. Maxx provides off-price apparel, accessories, footwear, home furnishings, décor, and related merchandise. Its value-oriented positioning fits the center’s post-mall tenant mix and broadens Fashion Center beyond electronics, bookstores, and restaurants.

• Barnes & NobleBookstore2023

  Barnes & Noble operates in a building adjacent to the former mall and replaced the former Big Lots use in the broader former Toys “R” Us site. The bookstore sells books and related media, gifts, stationery, and other cultural merchandise.

• Former Lord & Taylor department storeDepartment store1967

  Lord & Taylor was an original anchor and remained the center’s principal department-store presence after B. Altman departed. It later operated a home-focused format at the property, but the location closed on February 27, 2021, after the chain announced the closure of all its stores.

• Former Fairway Market and Amazon grocery marketGrocery retail2009

  Fairway Market occupied much of the former interior mall space and helped complete the center’s de-malling conversion. After Fairway’s departure in 2020, an Amazon grocery market opened in the space on July 21, 2022. The Amazon operation later closed after the company withdrew from its physical grocery-store format.

• 2023Re-tenant former Toys “R” Us and Big Lots space with Barnes & NobleOther

  The standalone building had housed Toys “R” Us, then Spirit Halloween and Big Lots, as the property continued to cycle through large-format tenants.

  What changed. Barnes & Noble opened in the space in November 2023.

  Aftermath. The change added a bookstore and cultural-retail destination to the center’s post-mall tenant mix.

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• 2020Replace Fairway Market with an Amazon grocery conceptStrategy

  Fairway Market announced plans to leave the center, creating a large vacancy in the space that had replaced much of the former mall interior.

  What changed. The space was assigned to an Amazon grocery market. Fairway’s closure was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Amazon market opened in July 2022.

  Aftermath. The Amazon market later closed after Amazon discontinued or reduced its physical grocery-store operations.

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• 2001Convert the enclosed mall into an open-access shopping centerStrategy

  Fashion Center had lost market share to larger Paramus-area malls, while the decline of B. Altman and the departure of other retailers left substantial interior space underused.

  What changed. Ownership planned a multiyear de-malling program. Stores were progressively given independent exterior entrances, the former interior arcade was reduced and ultimately sealed off, and larger standalone tenants were introduced.

  Aftermath. The conversion was effectively completed by 2009 and changed Fashion Center from a traditional enclosed mall into a smaller, flexible retail center.

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• 2023Barnes & Noble opens in the former Big Lots space

  After the Big Lots location closed, Barnes & Noble opened a bookstore in the former Toys “R” Us and Spirit Halloween space in November 2023.

  Product launch
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• 2022Amazon grocery market opens at Fashion Center

  An Amazon grocery market opened on July 21, 2022, in the space formerly occupied by Fairway Market.

  Product launch
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• 2020Fairway Market departure and Amazon grocery replacement announced

  Fairway Market was scheduled to leave the center, with an Amazon grocery concept planned for the space. The Fairway closure was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the replacement eventually opened in 2022.

  M&A
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• 2020Lord & Taylor announces closure of all stores

  Lord & Taylor announced that all 38 of its stores would close, including its Fashion Center location, which shut on February 27, 2021.

  BankruptcyLeadership change
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• 2009Fashion Center completes conversion to an open-access retail center

  The former general mall entrance was closed and renovated, and the interior common area was replaced by stores accessed directly from outside.

  Other
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• 2003Best Buy opens at Fashion Center during the property’s repositioning

  Best Buy opened at Fashion Center as part of the property’s transition away from a conventional enclosed-mall model.

  Product launch
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1. Fashion Center
2. Fashion Center official website