NJ ‘zombie’ mall joins once busy shopping meccas, now empty ghost towns

⚠️ Livingston Mall has permanently closed after more than five decades in Essex County.

➡️ Police warned urban explorers to stay off the property as vacant spaces drew attention.

🔴 Several other New Jersey malls are being demolished or redeveloped into mixed-use projects.

After just over 50 years, Livingston Mall is virtually shut down for good in Essex County.

As part of the long goodbye, vacant stores inside had become a recent attraction for urban explorers, spurring a warning from local police to steer clear.

“There will be zero tolerance for anyone visiting this property with criminal intent. Individuals found in violation will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, which could result in a permanent arrest record,” Livingston Police said in a June 18 warning on the department’s Facebook page.

The 54-year-old mall, less than five miles from the upscale store selections at the Mall at Short Hills, struggled with online retail competition in years even before the COVID pandemic.

Slowly, more and more of Livingston’s roughly 968,000 square feet of space remained empty.

Macy’s department store closed earlier this year in April.

Barnes and Noble has been the last store standing, via its exterior entrance, until July 15. The bookstore is preparing to move to a new Livingston location along Route 10 — called West Mt. Pleasant Avenue in the area.

That new spot will open Aug. 5, according to the store’s Instagram account.

Hamilton Mall Mays Landing 2023 image Google Maps

Livingston Mall joined New Jersey's growing list of zombie malls

Livingston Mall is just one of several “zombie mall” locations in New Jersey, which for decades took its dozens of malls for granted.

Another mall slowly fading is Hamilton Mall in Atlantic County. Urban explorers have continued to peek inside at the vacant store fronts and time capsule decor.

Videos shared from these empty spots to Tiktok and other social media have drawn comments from users that the eeriness is similar to that of online horror series turned hit movie, "Backrooms."

Another spot long stuck in time included Warren County’s Phillipsburg Mall — which was actually crumbling between its closure in 2020 and its demolition in 2024.

From enclosed NJ malls to mixed-use developments

In Middlesex County, Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick closed for good in January. The spot is being converted into an open-air shopping center.

Monmouth Mall was pretty bare for a time before large parts were torn down.

The location is being redeveloped into a mixed-use, “open-air” center, renamed Monmouth Square, that cuts down on the amount of retail space by 40%.

There will be 1,000 residential units and medical office space, as well as a public green and a network of pedestrian pathways.

Read More: NJ celeb Jason Mewes sad about mall, as demolition is underway

Similarly, in Camden County, the Echelon Mall was closed and renamed Voorhees Town Center in 2007.

The spot is also being transformed from mall to a mixed-use spot that includes some retail but also roughly 250 townhouses and 60 apartments.

Woodbridge Mall has been through some department store closures, spurring dozens of videos posted of at times quiet strolls along the inner levels. But, with Dave and Buster’s on site and events like a recent Pokemon card show, the location is still able to attract a good deal of traffic.

It's the challenge that more New Jersey malls have faced, post-pandemic: evolve or face extinction.

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