Moorestown Mall Anticipates $150M From Apartment Complex, Hotel

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The owners of the Moorestown Mall anticipate more than $150 million in revenues from a proposed apartment complex and hotel on the mall property.

That revenue could be used to reduce debt, the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) said in a statement. It anticipates closing on the sale of the initial parcel this year for $8 million.

“Our foresight has shaped a high-quality portfolio with a strong retail core that attracts a distinctive mix of new uses to redefine the future-ready retail and leisure district, including over 3,500 apartment units that are in the final stages of entitlement,” PREIT CEO Joseph F. Coradino said. “The synergistic addition of apartments and hotels will benefit our existing tenants and communities by increasing visits to the property and delivering a new customer.”

PREIT entered into the rezoning agreement last week, about a month after Moorestown Council approved a resolution to enter into the agreement. Read more here: Affordable Housing Complex, Hotel Approved For Moorestown Mall

The agreement centers around a three-phase plan to bring apartments and a hotel to the mall property. The first phase calls for an apartment building that houses 375 units, 75 of which would be set aside for affordable housing in the area formerly occupied by Lord & Taylor's, near the Sears auto center in the back of the property.

If the plan advances to the second and third phases, additional units would be built. The total built over three phases would be 1,065 units, with 213 set aside for affordable housing.

The plan would help satisfy the township's unmet need of 310 affordable units under the settlement it reached previously with the Fair Share Housing Center. These units would count for the township's fourth round obligation under the Mount Laurel Doctrine.

PREIT calls the agreement part of its overall plan to create “a diverse and expansive environment, marked by a healthy mix of multifamily housing, hotels, entertainment, dining, health & wellness, green space, working space, and local small business retail.”

“Over the course of the past decade, as an initial step in this transformation, PREIT has reinvented its mall properties through the introduction of a variety of uses including entertainment venues, extensive dining programs, off-price and value purveyors, fitness centers and traditional open-air tenancy,” PREIT said in the statement.

At the Moorestown Mall specifically, PREIT has opened a Regal movie theater, Joe Italiano's Maplewood, Hash House A Go Go, The Yard House, Sierra, HomeSense and a Planet Fitness.

“Like many of PREIT’s Philadelphia and DC-area properties, Moorestown Mall is ideally situated for a residential community with tremendous access to roadways, along with over 13 million square feet of office space in the trade area,” PREIT said. “With unique tenancy including leading off-price retail purveyors, traditional retail, dining and entertainment options, Moorestown Mall offers a one-stop hub fulfilling customer needs from convenience to fun.”

PREIT’s financial struggles were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, but it recently regained compliance with the New York Stock Exchange after receiving a warning in December. Read more here: Moorestown Mall Owner Back In Compliance: New York Stock Exchange

In all, PREIT plans 5,000 to 7,000 apartment units and several hotels at its various sites across South Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Massachusetts.