From dying mall to destination? East Brunswick bets big on open-air makeover

✅ Brunswick Square Mall will shed its roof and add eight new tenants

✅ New stores include Nordstrom Rack, J.Crew and PGA Tour Superstore

✅ Mayor Brad Cohen says East Brunswick will be back on the retail map

EAST BRUNSWICK — A New Jersey mall will try to revitalize itself in the new year by adding eight new tenants and taking the roof off.

Mmayor Brad Cohen announced that Paramount Realty and Edgewood Properties began work Monday on a plan to turn the enclosed Brunswick Square Mall into an open-air marketplace.

Eight new retailers were also announced for the shopping center along Route 18: Fun City Adventure Park, Hackensack Meridian Health, J.Crew, Kid Strong, Nordstrom Rack, PGA Tour Superstore, The Picklr and Sola Salon will open in 2026. The Picklr, a pickleball court, will likely be first to open early in the year.

"For years we've been working on trying to revitalize the mall and reimagine it as a community center, a place where people can gather, work, shop and stay together as a community," Cohen said.

Paramount and Edgewood said the new stores will form a "walkable streetscape." New retail clusters, enhanced pedestrian pathways, and reconfigured storefronts "will create a true lifestyle environment rather than a traditional mall."

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Existing retailers AMC Theatres, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Bath & Body Works, Panera Bread, Twisted Crab, Kids United, Results Performance, LensCrafters, Olive Garden, Habit Burger & Grill, and TD Bank will be anchors.

Cohen, who has announced a run in the 12th Congressional District Democratic primary to succeed Bonnie Watson Coleman, said the new development will put East Brunswick back on the retail map.

"It creates a boost to the economy, creates jobs and it does exactly what people have been asking for, to be able to provide the type of retail here that people can do here in East Brunswick and not have to leave," Cohen said.

Brunswick Square Mall first opened in 1970.

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