The Elizabeth Center is a power center located off Exit 13A on the New Jersey Turnpike in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The location near the exit is incorporated into the center's logo, as El13Abeth Center. The first tenant, IKEA, opened in 1990. It is right next to the

Jersey Gardens The Mills at Jersey Gardens, originally and also still colloquially called Jersey Gardens, is a two-level indoor outlet mall in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The mall opened on October 21, 1999, and is the largest outlet mall in New Jersey, and much clos ...

mall and also located in an Urban Enterprise Zone.

History

Built on a former landfill, in 1990 the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

-based home furnishings store, IKEA, opened. It became very successful, and by the mid-1990s, an

Incredible Universe Incredible Universe was the name of a chain of American consumer electronics stores in the early to mid-1990s. A typical Incredible Universe was of sales floor and warehouse, stocking around 85,000 items.

store opened next to IKEA.

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

Kid's World, a prototype store also opened which included . of space, including Toys "R" Us, Kids "R" Us,

Babies "R" Us An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

, the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

store, Kids

Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in 1988, Foo ...

, a photo studio, children's hair salon, play area, candy store and

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert a ...

. The IKEA store was renovated and expanded in 1998. The Incredible Universe store was closed in 1996 after the chain went under. In 1997, Here Comes The Place, "RexPlex", a large indoor theme park, skate park, and arena park. It also featured a soccer field in the parking lot. It closed in 2004 and the soccer field has since been paved over. In 2011,

Big Lots Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American retail company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio with over 1,400 stores in 47 states. History The Big Lots chain traces its history back to 1967 when Consolidated Stores Corporation ...

was opened next to Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us. All Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores closed in 2018, and Big Lots closed in 2019. A Raymour & Flanigan was also opened in the former RexPlace in 2019 with

Floor & Decor Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc., branded as Floor & Decor, is a multi-channel American specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories that was founded in 2000 and headquartered in Smyrna, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta). Histo ...

to be opened in the former Big Lots and the joint Toys R Us and Babies "R" Us location in the future.

Tenants

Current

* IKEA (opened 1990 – remodeled 1998) * Raymour & Flanigan (opened 2019) *

(opened 2019)

Former

Kids Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in 1988, Foot ...

(opened 1996 – closed 1999) *

(opened 1999 – closed 2000) *Warner Bros. Studio Store (opened 2000 – closed 2001) *

(opened 1996 – closed 2018) **

Toys "R" Us KidsWorld A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

(opened 1996 – rebranded as Toys "R" Us in 2007) *

(opened 2007 – closed 2018) *

(opened 1995 – closed 1996) *RexPlex (opened 1997 – closed 2004) *

(opened 2011 – closed 2019) *Unknown Photo Studio (opened 1992 - closed 1996) *Unknown Hair Salon (opened 1991 - closed 1996)

References

External links

Exit 13AElizabeth Ikea
Buildings and structures in Elizabeth, New Jersey Shopping malls in New Jersey Shopping malls established in 1990 Power centers (retail) in the United States Buildings and structures in Union County, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Union County, New Jersey Economy of Elizabeth, New Jersey Shopping malls in the New York metropolitan area {{NewJersey-struct-stub