Brunswick Square (shopping mall)

Brunswick Square is a single story shopping mall located in East Brunswick, New Jersey, at the intersection of Route 18 and Rues Lane. It is owned and managed by Washington Prime Group and has gross leasable area (GLA) of 769,041 sq ft (71,446.2 m2).[1][2][3] The current anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's.

Brunswick Square
One of the two main entrances
Map
LocationEast Brunswick, New Jersey
Coordinates40°25′24″N 74°22′56″W / 40.423347°N 74.382259°W / 40.423347; -74.382259
Opening date1970
DeveloperDeBartolo Realty Corp.
ManagementSpinoso Real Estate Group
No. of stores and services60+
No. of anchor tenants2
Total retail floor area769,041 sq ft (71,446.2 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in JCPenney, 3 in Macy’s)
ParkingParking lot
Public transit accessBus transport NJ Transit NJ Transit bus: 811, 818
Websiteshopbrunswicksquare.com

History

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Brunswick Square Mall was built on land that was formerly the Ostroski Farm on Rues Lane. The Ostroski family sold the land to the Macy's Corporation in 1969 for the construction of Bamberger's, which opened in 1970. Anchor JCPenney and the mall portion, originally owned by DeBartolo Corporation, opened in 1973. Bamberger's became Macy's in 1986 when the chain was phased out in favor of the Macy's name.[4]

In 1999, a smaller expansion took place that added a Barnes & Noble and expanded the movie theater to 13 stadium seating screens. The theater expansion occupied an adjacent McCrory's. Several eateries were incorporated into the movie theater, including Nathan's Famous, Ben & Jerry's, and Auntie Anne's, to make up for a lack of a proper food court. Also that year, Simon Property Group acquired the mall from DeBartolo.

In October 2000, the interior of the mall was renovated in which new ceilings, skylights, flooring and lighting was installed and a second main entrance was constructed on the west side of the mall through a space formerly occupied by Kinney Shoes, next to Spencer's Gifts. In 2011, JCPenney underwent major renovations to give the store a new look and add a Sephora inside the department store.

Numerous stores have come and gone since 2011. The movie theater Mega Movies closed down and was replaced by Starplex Cinemas in 2011. Starplex had also bought the fast food franchise licenses of the Nathan's Famous and Ben & Jerry's from Mega Movies but subsequently decided to close the ice cream store due to a lack of revenue. In early 2013, construction was completed on a new entrance and hallway anchored with a Panera Bread, Tilted Kilt, and GoWireless.[5] In 2015, Starplex Cinemas was bought out by AMC Theatres. Also in 2015, the Subway sandwich store closed and was replaced by the Pop in Cafe. The Pop In Cafe has since closed.

In 2016, Simon Property Group sold the mall to WP Glimcher. Also that year, Ruby Tuesday closed to make way for Bar Louie and Red Robin. Bar Louie opened in late-2016 and Red Robin opened in August 2017. In addition, Rainbow moved next to Famous Footwear during this time and its former storefront was used for Red Robin.

Pups of War, a nerf blaster arena, opened in June 2021.[6]

A new sneaker store was opened in 2024, specifically a resell store which sells sought after sneakers.

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References

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  1. ^ "The History of the Brunswick Square Mall...and Its Future". TAPinto. January 2, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
  2. ^ International Council of Shopping Centers: Brunswick Square Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 31, 2006.
  3. ^ "NJ Property Tax Records". State of New Jersey. NJ Department of Treasurey. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved Jan 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "The History of the Brunswick Square Mall...and Its Future". 2 January 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Panera Bread, Tilted Kilt to Open in Brunswick Square Mall". 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-01-13. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  6. ^ "4,000-square-foot Nerf blaster arena slated to open in N.J." 10 March 2021.
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