Montgomery Mall is a two-story

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located in the community of Montgomeryville in Montgomery Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

near the borough of

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. The mall, owned by Kohan Retail Investment Group, is located along Pennsylvania Route 309 ( Bethlehem Pike) at the intersection with U.S. Route 202 Business (Dekalb Pike), amidst other commercial development. It contains over 90 stores and eateries and is anchored by

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, and Wegmans.

History

Montgomery Mall PA first floor near Sears

The Montgomery Mall was built in 1977 by The Kravco Company. In 1986,

Bamberger's Bamberger's was a department store chain with branches primarily in New Jersey and other locations in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The chain was headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. History 1892–1912 Newark was known for ma ...

became

. In 1995, the Wanamaker's store became

Hecht's Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores that operated mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States. The firm originated in Baltimore, Maryland. By 20 ...

. Hecht's became

Strawbridge's Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban emporiu ...

in 1997 after its parent company, May Department Stores, acquired the Strawbridge's chain.

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

acquired the Montgomery Mall in 2003. Strawbridge's closed in 2006 as a result of

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...

acquiring May Department Stores, with

Boscov's Boscov's Inc. is a family-owned department store with forty-nine locations in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Twenty-six of these stores are located in Pennsylvania. Corporate headqu ...

taking over the former store in 2007. The Boscov's store closed in October 2008 as part of their restructuring.

was also added in 2008. In November 2011, it was announced that a Wegmans would replace the vacant Boscov's. This store was planned to be the first Wegmans located in a shopping mall. The former Boscov's store was demolished in the process of constructing the new Wegmans. The Wegmans store opened on November 3, 2013. The Montgomery Mall has recently gone under reconstruction. This renovation had a cost of $8 million and the main purpose was to redesign exterior and entrance, restrooms and upgrade lighting. On November 7, 2019, it was announced that the Sears store at Montgomery Mall would close as part of a plan to close 96 stores nationwide. Liquidation sales began on December 2, 2019. The store closed in February 2020. On May 3, 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Montgomery County opened a COVID-19 vaccination site in the former Sears space. In June 2021, the Montgomery Mall was foreclosed upon by Wilmington Trust, trustee for Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage. The mall was placed into receivership by June 22, with JLL taking over management of the mall, and a $118.78 million judgment was issued against Simon Property Group affiliate Mall at Montgomery, LP by July 12. In order to satisfy the loan, the mall was sold to Kohan Retail Investment Group on November 20, 2021 for $55 million. In 2022, Kohan Retail Investment Group sold the Wegmans site at the mall to ExchangeRight for $22.6 million. In recent years, the Montgomery Mall has seen a decrease in foot traffic and an increase in the vacancy rate. Kohan Retail Investment Group has released no plans regarding the future of the mall.

Anchors

Current

— Opened in 2008 *

— Opened in 1977 *

- Opened in 1986 * Wegmans - Opened in 2013

Former

- opened in 2007, closed in 2008 and later demolished and replaced with Wegmans in 2013 *

- Opened in 1997, closed in 2006, converted to Boscov's in 2007 *

- Opened in 1995 and converted to Strawbridge's in 1997 *

- Opened in 1977 and converted to Macy's in 1986 * Wanamaker's - Opened in 1977 and converted to Hecht's in 1995 * Tweeter - Junior anchor, closed in 2008 * Sears - Opened in 1977, closed in 2020

References

External links

Official Website
{{Philadelphia Malls Shopping malls in Pennsylvania Shopping malls established in 1977 Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1977 establishments in Pennsylvania Kohan Retail Investment Group