Fashion District Philadelphia is a

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 ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States, located in Center City along

Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...

. It opened in 2019 on the site of a previous mall known as The Gallery and later renamed The Gallery at Market East. The mall was envisioned to fill that "void" that even smaller cities have, to sell items to the Center City market that had previously only been available elsewhere. The Fashion District Philadelphia currently has

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...

AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...

, and

Round One Entertainment , stylized as ROUND1, is a Japan-based amusement store chain. In Japan, the amusement centers offer bowling alleys, arcade games, karaoke, and billiards. They also have a larger variation of Round One known as SpoCha, abbreviated for Sports Chal ...

as anchors.

History

Prior to the Fashion District Philadelphia, the space originally opened in 1977 as The Gallery. It was later expanded with the construction of The Gallery II in the early 1980s. The

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states. History The company was founded by Sylvan M. Cohen in 1960 as one of the first equit ...

(PREIT) acquired The Gallery in April 2003 from

The Rouse Company The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company T ...

and Gallery II in the third fiscal quarter of 2004 from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Public School Employees' Retirement System The Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) is a pension fund for public school employees in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Eligible members include all full-time public school employees, part-time hourly public school employees wh ...

. The total complex measures approximately of retail space and at its peak had over 130 stores. The space was originally anchored by

Strawbridge & Clothier 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 ...

department store at 8th Street and

Gimbels Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the compa ...

department store at 9th Street. It later became part of the entrance to access SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines with the opening of the Market East Station, later rebranded for

Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

as Jefferson Station. The mall also provided access to the underground

Concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...

that connects to the Market-Frankford Line,

PATCO Speedline The PATCO Speedline (signed in Philadelphia as the Lindenwold Line and also known colloquially as the PATCO High Speed Line) is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), which runs between Philadelphia, Pe ...

to New Jersey, Broad Street Subway Line, the

SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

, and others. In September 2008, the developers of

Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia was a proposed casino to be located first along the Delaware River, then under pressure from local residents attempted to move to The Gallery at Market East in Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of ...

changed their proposed

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

location to The Gallery at Market East after receiving opposition from residents near the original proposed site in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia. Elected on November 6, 2007, he was reelected to a second term on November 8, 2011. He is a previous member of the Philadelphia ...

and Governor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...

. The original proposal for the Foxwoods Casino at The Gallery at Market East was for a 3,000-slot-machine casino on two floors that were occupied by Burlington Department Store (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) which would have necessitated moving the store. However, on February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers had instead decided to locate their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's building. In January 2014, it was announced that

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

would be closing its Gallery store in late April. At the time, it was announced that there were plans to turn the former Kmart space into multiple street-facing stores centered on an atrium, and to redevelop the mostly vacant top level of the mall in other ways. In April 2014 Century 21 Clothing announced that it would open an anchor store at the mall, which has since closed. In July 2014,

Macerich Macerich ( ) is a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers. It is the third-largest owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned interests in 52 properties comprisi ...

acquired a 50% stake in The Gallery at Market East and invested $106.8 million to redevelop the mall as part of a joint venture partnership with PREIT. As of June 19, 2015, the $325 million remodeling of "The Gallery" had been officially approved by the city council, and the legislation had been approved by Philadelphia Mayor

Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia. Elected on November 6, 2007, he was reelected to a second term on November 8, 2011. He is a previous member of the Philadelphia ...

. Demolition started in August 2015, with construction expected to last two years and a grand opening sometime in 2017. According to the website for the Fashions Outlets of Philadelphia, the Burlington and Century 21 anchor stores would remain open during reconstruction. In August 2017, the developers announced that outlets plan has been abandoned and the mall would instead feature a mix of retail, entertainment, and dining venues, much to that of a traditional shopping mall. The mall would effectively be renamed Fashion District Philadelphia. It was initially slated to reopen in the spring of 2018. However, the decision to move Burlington and add an

multiplex led PREIT to delay opening most of the revamped complex until 2019. The grand opening for Fashion District Philadelphia took place on September 19, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held. The AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8 dine-in movie theater opened on November 4, 2019. The opening of this movie theater marked the first time since 2002 that Center City Philadelphia had a multi-screen movie theater; Philadelphia had previously been the only major city in the United States without a multi-screen movie theater in the downtown area. On December 21, 2019, a

bowling and entertainment center opened at Fashion District Philadelphia. In October 2019, it was announced that

would open a store at Fashion District Philadelphia at the corner of 11th and Market streets. The store opened on September 16, 2021. Century 21 closed in 2020 as a result of the chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all stores. After PREIT filed for bankruptcy in 2020, PREIT relinquished its primary control of Fashion District Philadelphia on January 1, 2021, with Macerich taking over management of the mall. Macerich made a $100 million payment on a $301 million loan backed by Fashion District Philadelphia. On December 16, 2021, a

Giant Heirloom Market The Giant Company (formerly known as Giant Food Stores) is an American regional supermarket chain that operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and provides online shopping and delivery to New Jersey through G ...

grocery store opened in the ground level of the former Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street. On July 21, 2022, the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, the city's

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

franchise, announced its plans to build a new arena, 76 Place at Market East, on part of the site, costing at least $1.3 Billion.

Transit connections

Jefferson Station entrance from Fashion District Philadelphia

The following rail stations are connected to Fashion District Philadelphia * 8th St Station —

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

Market–Frankford Line The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...

, SEPTA Broad–Ridge Spur,

* 11th St Station — SEPTA Market–Frankford Line * Jefferson Station —

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphi ...

Besides the SEPTA rail connections, various

SEPTA city bus The City Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operate almost all of Philadelphia's public transit, including all six trolley, three trackless trolley, and 70 bus lines within city limits. Some of th ...

routes and

NJ Transit bus NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along one light rail line, with many routes going to New York City and Philadelphia. In , the bus system had a ridership ...

routes have stops next to Fashion District Philadelphia. The

Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal The Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal is the primary intercity bus station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is located at 1001 Filbert Street in Center City Philadelphia near the SEPTA Regional Rail Jefferson Station and the Fashion Dis ...

, Philadelphia's primary intercity bus station, is located immediately to the north of Fashion District Philadelphia.

Anchors

* AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8 *

GIANT Heirloom Market The Giant Company (formerly known as Giant Food Stores) is an American regional supermarket chain that operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and provides online shopping and delivery to New Jersey through G ...

Former anchors

*Strawbridge's *Kmart (Closed 2014) * Century 21 (closed 2020)

References

External links

fashiondistrictphiladelphia.com
- website for Fashion District Philadelphia

- 40 photos that show off Philly’s colorful new Fashion District {{Coord, 39.952076, N, 75.156612, W, type:landmark_region:US-PA, display=title Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Shopping malls in Pennsylvania Shopping malls established in 1977 Economy of Philadelphia Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Macerich Market East, Philadelphia