Iconic NJ mall gets a makeover and this brand new name

It began as an open-air shopping center and now it’s coming full circle. It’ll soon be an open-air shopping center once again. But this time, it’ll have a brand new name.

We all know that the Monmouth Mall is being redeveloped, but there are some details about it that we are finding out as the development is taking place.

Monmouth Mall first opened back in 1960 as an outdoor shopping center, with about 650,000 square feet of space. It was the kind of place that felt like the center of everything growing up.

SEE MORE: Another massive new outdoor mall coming to NJ

Fast forward to today, and the mall is already starting to look different. They're taking off part of the roof to turn it back into an open-air shopping destination, and the overall space is being downsized from 1.5 million square feet to around 900,000.

It’s a huge shift from what it used to be, but anyone who's been keeping up with the news knows this has been in the works for a while now.

The developer, Kushner Companies, is tearing down the old, vacant department stores and making way for 1,000 new apartments.

The mall itself will undergo what they’re calling a “de-malling,” which basically means transforming it into more of an open, outdoor space. It’s a big change for those of us who remember the old days, but it's the kind of evolution that’s been happening to malls everywhere.

I have an emotional attachment to the name Monmouth Mall. It can’t be called the mall anymore because well, it won’t be a mall anymore. But it will be christened with the new name “Monmouth Square.” In the new “live, work, and play” development we’ll have a name that sounds part mall and part city.

The mall will remain open throughout the demolition process. And not all the current stores are going away. (The existing Macys, AMC Theatres and Boscov’s will remain in their current locations.)

The redevelopment is a big change for the shopping destination. But I guarantee you that most of us who grow up with the Monmouth Mall will probably still continue to call it “the mall.”

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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