Paramus Park

Description

Paramus Park is located on a plot of land between the northbound lanes of Route 17 and the southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway, approximately 2 mi from the interchanges of both highways with Route 4. It is accessible from the northbound Garden State Parkway at exit 163 and at exit 165 in both directions. An entrance to the southbound lanes is located in the mall's rear parking lot. Access off of NJ 17 is available on two access roads.

At 767000 sqft and with about 100 stores, Paramus Park, compared to the larger Garden State Plaza (which is three times its size), is a more regional, destination-oriented mall, with a higher-than-average sales per square foot, estimated by industry experts to be between 400 and or more. In addition to attracting upscale shoppers and tenants, its smaller stores, lower congestion and location along the Garden State Parkway in an affluent area attracted shoppers responding to the Great Recession of 2007-2009, according to a 2011 NorthJersey.com report. By 2016, estimates were that the mall had tenants for 97 percent of the stores and was bringing in 430 $/sqft in sales.

The four major malls in the borough—Garden State Plaza (opened in 1957), Bergen Town Center (also 1957), Fashion Center (opened in 1967) and Paramus Park—account for a major portion of the $6 billion in annual retail sales generated in Paramus, more than any other ZIP Code in the United States. Paramus Park gets 6 million visitors annually to its 107 stores. Located in Bergen County, the mall is subject both to the state Blue laws that apply to the entire county by referendum and the borough's stricter ordinance, which require them to be closed on Sundays. Stew Leonard's, Club Pilates, Atlantic Health System Urgent Care and Glitter and Glam Spa are the only businesses open on Sundays.

History

Paramus Park was initially one of three enclosed malls in Paramus at the time of its construction. The Fashion Center, which is located near Paramus Park along Route 17, was the first built specifically as a strictly-indoor facility and opened in 1967. The Bergen Mall, located on Route 4 and built in 1957, became the second when the former outdoor mall was enclosed in 1973. (At the time Garden State Plaza, built in 1957, was still an outdoor mall; it completed its conversion to an enclosed mall in 1984.) Paramus Park remains one of three indoor malls in Paramus; the Fashion Center and The Shoppes on IV, the latter constructed after Paramus Park was built, were converted into outdoor shopping plazas.

Pre-construction and development

The genesis of the mall dates back to efforts by A&S in mid-1966 to identify a site for a location in Bergen County. From 1969 to 1971, Federated Department Stores and The Rouse Company, which had been selected to develop the mall, acquired land for the mall itself, as well as to create a bridge connecting the site to Route 17. Federated founded its real-estate development arm Federated Stores Realty in 1972, and this would be one of their first malls, albeit jointly developed with Rouse.

The Rouse Company and Federated Stores Realty formed the subsidiary Paramus Park, Inc. and partnered with Congen Properties, Inc., the real-estate arm of the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (now The Cigna Group), which would develop, own, and manage the mall. RTKL Associates were the architects of the complex. By 1971, a series of lots covering 64 acres was assembled and the wetlands were drained by October 1972 to create a site for the construction to begin.

The mall opened on March 14, 1974, with a 300000 sqft Abraham & Straus (since turned into a Macy's store) and Sears (which did not open until August) as anchors and space for 120 specialty stores. The Paramus High School Marching Band played at the grand opening.

The mall's second-floor food court was an innovation, and is now credited as the first successful shopping mall food court in the United States following The Rouse Company's Gourmet Fair food court for Sherway Gardens in Canada in 1971, which was credited as the first successful food court for North America, and a failed attempt with Plymouth Meeting Mall in 1968 in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. A Fortunoff opened at the store in 1977, the chain's first location in New Jersey.

The mall is shaped as a four-legged zigzag, with an anchor store at each end and the mezzanine-level food court encircling an atrium which featured 6000 gal of water flowing each minute over a 30 ft terraced waterfall surrounded by vegetation and punctuated by a pair of escalators; claimed to be the nation's second largest, tens of thousands of coins were tossed into the artificial waterfall, with nearly $3,500 collected in the mall's first year. In its first 25 years, some 12 million coins had been collected from the waterfall, with an average of $400 per month donated from the proceeds to charitable organizations in the area.

After opening

A stairway and a glass elevator surrounded by terraced gardens rounded out the access points to the second level food court until 1999 when it was demolished due to long lines, and replaced by two new elevators which were relocated. The food court has been very popular at the lunch hour with the area office workers. The garden-like design was prevalent throughout the rest of the mall. Trees lined the main promenade of the mall, along with park benches; all under large skylights. Two small courtyards were at the other leg intersections; one hosted a carousel and the other a lowered seating area with a bronze statue of a turkey, standing 10 ft in height. The turkey statue was inspired by the name of the town from which the mall gets its name. Paramus comes from the Lenni Lenape Native American word meaning "land of the wild turkey" or "place of fertile soil". A carousel was installed in 1976 to replace a play area that was considered dangerous and was the site of a number of child injuries and was removed after 37 years in August 2013 so that the mall could use that space for other purposes.

Paramus Park is mentioned in the lyrics of the 1977 Dean Friedman song "Ariel". The two characters in the song were "standing by the waterfall at Paramus Park".

In 1986, Paramus Park was the site of an innovative McDonald's restaurant in its food court, which featured a décor with oak trim, pastel tiles and marble counters, in lieu of the traditional plastic interior in primary colors. The facility cost $650,000 to construct, 40% more than a typical McDonald's, and was designed to create more of the feel of an upscale restaurant. Closed in 2000, it was replaced by a walk-up. The McDonald's location closed in the 2010s and was replaced by a Burger King. Restrooms are now located in its former location. A Claire's store was opened in 1988, and closed in 2006.

Hanson's 1997 video "Tulsa, Tokyo & the Middle of Nowhere", features the band traveling to Paramus Park on May 7, 1997, performing in the food court in front of over 6,000 screaming fans; the performance had been promoted by radio station WHTZ, which had anticipated a crowd numbering in the hundreds, not the thousands who showed up. The performance was Hanson's first public appearance after the release of "MMMBop".

In 2004, General Growth Properties acquired The Rouse Co., which owned Paramus Park, as well as other malls in the state, including Willowbrook in Wayne and Woodbridge Center in Woodbridge Township.

During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, the mall's smaller stores, historical lower congestion and location along the Garden State Parkway in an affluent area attracted upscale shoppers and tenants that had previously shifted away from smaller malls in lieu of the larger ones in the area, such as Westfield Garden State Plaza, according to a 2011 NorthJersey.com report.

The mall received approval in 2008 for a new 88650 sqft lifestyle center on the west side of the mall, which would have more of a "main street" feel for shoppers.

In 2011 the Foot Locker complex store was closed as L.L. Bean decided to begin leasing the space. The store opened in November 2011.

In May 2013, following a unanimous vote from the local zoning board, plans began to construct a 13-screen movie theater on 88000 sqft of space to be added the west side of the mall, attached to the food court. This would have been a Regal Cinemas movie theater.

In October 2017, it was reported that the Sears department store that had served as an anchor store since the mall opened in 1974 would be replaced by a Stew Leonard's supermarket on the first floor and a 12-screen Regal Cinemas theater on the second floor. On December 7, mall representatives appeared at a public hearing to request approval by zoning officials to convert the aging Sears department store into a Stew Leonard's supermarket and movie theater. By 2019, NJ.com said that the completed 80,000 sqft supermarket, the first one built by Stew Leonard's in New Jersey, had "transformed Paramus Park Mall into a different kind of destination" by providing a new option for grocery shoppers. Plans for a movie theater have since been cancelled.

In 2018, Uniqlo announced that it would open a 13000 sqft store at the mall after moving from Garden State Plaza.

In 2018, owner and manager of the mall GGP Inc. was acquired by Brookfield.

In January 2026, Brookfield Properties reverted its retail division back to GGP.

References

References

1. "Paramus Park".
2. Savage, Ania. (March 10, 1974). "Shopping Center Is Opening. Parallel to Parkway". [[The New York Times]].
3. "Paramus Park". [[Brookfield Properties Retail Group]].
4. link. (September 30, 2007)
5. link. (November 5, 2013 , August 14, 2011.)
6. Verdon, Joan. [https://www.northjersey.com/story/money/2016/02/07/paramus-park-awaits-its-renaissance/94467908/ "Paramus Park awaits its renaissance"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', February 7, 2016. Accessed December 1, 2022. "Real estate research firm Green Street Advisors, in its proprietary mall rankings database, rates Paramus Park as a B+ mall, putting it in the stable category, and says the mall has sales per square foot of roughly $430 and 97 percent occupancy."
7. Pries, Allison. [https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/03/more-shopping-money-is-spent-in-this-nj-town-than-on-rodeo-drive-take-that-cali.html "Inside the N.J. town where retail spending beats Hollywood and tourism rivals Disney"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], March 10, 2019. Accessed December 1, 2022. "The former farming community already sees more retail sales than any other zip code in the country (yup, it even beats Beverly Hills' luxurious Rodeo Drive) and it's continuing to add more shopping complexes.... More than $6 billion in retail sales happen in Paramus each year.... Garden State Plaza and the town's second largest mall, the roughly 1 million-square-foot Outlets at Bergen Town Center, are the two malls that made Paramus stand out on the map and began its path to becoming a retail mecca.... The first two malls were built in 1957. Followed by the Fashion Center in 1967 and Paramus Park in 1974."
8. [http://www.globest.com/retail/advisor/1_54/advisor/16788-1.html Paramus 07652] {{webarchive. link. (May 17, 2008, GlobeSt. Retail, October 3, 2005)
9. Belson, Ken. [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/20/business/20mall.html "In This Town, Even a Mall Rat Can Get Rattled"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 20, 2006. Accessed November 28, 2022.
10. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221130231132/https://casetext.com/case/mack-paramus-co-v-mayor-and-council ''Mack Paramus Co. v. Mayor and Council''], Casetext. Accessed November 30, 2022. "The State's statutory Sunday blue law, as incorporated in the Code, restricts the sale on Sunday of only five categories of goods. N.J.S.A. 2A:171-5.18. The provisions of the State law are not operative unless the voters of a county adopt the State law by referendum, upon which the statutory prohibition will be applicable on a county-wide basis. N.J.S.A. 2A:171-5.12. The voters in Bergen County, in which Midland Park and Paramus are located, have adopted the State Sunday blue law."
11. Strum, Charles. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/03/nyregion/the-1993-elections-bergen-sunday-closing-law-retained-in-new-jersey-county.html "Sunday-Closing Law Retained in New Jersey County"],''[[The New York Times]]'', November 3, 1993. Accessed November 28, 2022. "Efforts to repeal the 34-year-old ban on Sunday retailing in Bergen County, one of the country's richest shopping areas, were turned back easily today....Even if the county laws had been repealed, stores in Paramus would have remained closed because the community enforces its own ordinances against Sunday shopping and has vowed not to lift them"
12. Verdon, Joan (November 16, 2017). [https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/11/16/paramus-park-mall-garden-state-plaza-bergen-town-center-fashion-center-survive/823407001/ "Mallville USA: Rating the four malls of Paramus. Will they survive?"] ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]''/NorthJersey.com. Accessed January 17, 2018.
13. Sarno, Bill. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113905480/paramus-park-mall-to-open/ "Paramus Park Ready"], ''The Ridgewood News'', March 13, 1974. Accessed November 30, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "The initial impetus for the center came from A&S in the spring of 1966. The Brooklyn firm, which will open 300,000 square feet of merchandising area tomorrow, was seeking a Bergen County site. By 1969 the parent firm Federated, was assembling the parcel north of Midland Avenue and the Rouse Co, famous for development of a new city, Columbia. Md., became interested in the project. By the winter of 1970, land was assembled so that an access road linking the site to Route 17, through a bridge over the state highway, and a connection to Winters Avenue and, in turn, to Ridgewood Avenue, was possible. In the spring of 1971, A&S and the Rouse Co. purchased the several tracts of land that became Paramus Park."
14. "Shopping mall data".
15. (March 10, 1974). "Shopping center is opening parallel to parkway".
16. Kelly, Jacques. [https://www.baltimoresun.com/2011/11/30/frank-taliaferro-rtkl-founder/ "Frank Taliaferro, RTKL founder"], ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', November 30, 2011. Accessed December 22, 2025. "Remembered as a mentor to numerous designers at RTKL, Mr. Taliaferro led architects who refined old retail strip centers and finessed them into shopping malls, including Harundale in Glen Burnie and Paramus Park in New Jersey, known for its early food court."
17. [https://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2009/06/paramus-park-mall-garden-state-parkway.html Paramus Park], Mall Hall of Fame. Accessed December 22, 2025. "Five individual parcels, totaling 64 acres, had been acquired by the spring of 1971.... The mall site, which was a worthless swamp, had to be drained and filled before construction work could get underway, in October 1972."
18. Cahill, Matt. [https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/492153278/ "Paramus Park Mall opens with a splash"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', March 15, 1974. Accessed June 21, 2021, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "To the splashing of a 6,000-gallon-a-minute waterfall and the buzzing of saws in the background, Paramus Park Mall opened for business and sight-seeing yesterday. Shoppers and spectators seemed to view the opening ceremonies as a momentary diversion from the sight of the terraced, stone waterfall and a 20-foot sculpture of a wild turkey."
19. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-macys-big-in-paramus/165051270/ "MACY'S: Big in Paramus"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', August 25, 2001 via [[Newspapers.com]].
20. (May 2004). "Rouse Left Mark On Malls, Not Just His Own". Shopping Centers Today ([[International Council of Shopping Centers]]).
21. Verdon, Joan. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-fortunoff-to-open-store-in-be/187269456/ "Fortunoff bets on great outdoors"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', February 2, 2010. Accessed December 22, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "1977 - Fortunoff comes to New Jersey, with a store at the new Paramus Park mall."
22. Dvorak, Wes. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113904176/waterfall-at-paramus-park/ "Cascades of wishes; Cast coins on waterfall"], ''The Ridgewood News'', May 11, 1975. Accessed November 30, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Anywhere from 16,000-32,000 pennies and silver coins are scooped from the fall's dozen levels each month and handed over to a long list of charities. The small change added up to $3,473.94 in the waterfall's first year. The only larger indoor waterfall in the country is in a Kansas City hotel, according to Paramus Park horticulturist George Crouse. Rising about 30 feet from a base of 2000 square feet, 6000 gallons of water gush and cascades down its dozen tiers each minute."
23. Verdon, Joan. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113904799/paramus-parks-25th-anniversary/ "Paramus Park aims to make a new sort of splash"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', July 11, 1999. Accessed November 30, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Since opening day, some 12U million pennies have been thrown into the waterfall. The coins (the average monthly take is $400) are collected and donated to local charities.... Another feature slated for removal is the glass-enclosed elevator that toddlers and the under-10 set insist on riding in, even when there's a long line of stroller-bound shoppers waiting to use it."
24. Blumenstyk, Goldie. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113906239/a-reflection-on-the-shopping-mall/ "Shopping Malls: center of our society?"], ''[[The Orlando Sentinel]]'', December 31, 1980. Accessed November 30, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "In the middle stands a 10-foot tall, bronze-colored statue of a turkey, said to be symbolic of the city of Paramus, which we were told means 'wild turkey' in 'Indian.'"
25. The last carousel was installed during the 1990s.Cheslow, Jerry [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/15/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-paramus-in-shopping-mecca-houses-sell-well-too.html "If You're Thinking of Living In/Paramus; In Shopping Mecca, Houses Sell Well Too"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 15, 2001. Accessed December 18, 2017.
26. Wassel, Bryan. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/town-news-carousel-to-be-removed-at-para/187269976/ "After 37 years at mall, carousel takes its final spin"], ''Town News'', August 29, 2013. Accessed December 22, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Nearly four decades after it was introduced to Paramus Park Mall patrons, the Golden Horse Carousel was taken out of operation last week. The mall has a 'different plan for that area,' according to carousel owner Peter Bowen of Bowen and Bowen Accountants. He was informed by mall officials earlier this month that the ride needed to be out of the space by the end of August."
27. (April 2020). 9781439649671. Accessed December 18, 2017. "The glam rock band Trixter, popular in the 1990s, was formed by four of the town's residents, and Dean Friedman, best known for the 1977 hit 'Ariel,' included lyrics in his song about a girl 'standing by the water fall in Paramus Park' and references the town as the 'bosom of suburbia.'"
28. "At Fast-Food Restaurants, Plastic Is Out, And Marble, Brass and Greenhouses Are In", ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'', December 3, 1985. pg. 1
29. Friendly, Jonathan. [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/18/style/a-mcdonald-s-in-paramus-with-infusions-of-grandeur.html "A McDonald's in Paramus With Infusions of Grandeur"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 18, 1986. p. A22. Accessed December 18, 2017. "'It's, like, awesome,' said Lori Bosch, a Dumont High School senior, pausing from her Big Mac and fries to explain her feelings about the décor of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant that opened last Saturday on the upper level of the atrium at the Paramus Park Mall. It is the latest expression of a trend in fast-food restaurants to exchange plastic and primary colors for a cooler and more substantial look."
30. [http://thd.danitza.org/events/1997events.html hanson events: 1997]. Accessed May 30, 2018.
31. Hinckley, David. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113906557/hanson-performs-at-paramus-park-mall/ "WOR is 75 and still Gambling"], ''[[New York Daily News]]'', May 9, 1997. Accessed November 30, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "WHTZ (100.3 FM) invited the new band Hanson over to Paramus Park Mall and expected a few hundred fans. More than 6,000 showed up."
32. Macatee, Rebecca. [https://www.eonline.com/news/848930/why-hanson-s-scary-choices-worked-zac-hanson-talks-20-years-of-mmmbop-and-his-future-with-taylor-and-isaac "Why Hanson's 'Scary' Choices Worked: Zac Hanson Talks 20 Years of 'MMMBop' and His Future With Taylor and Isaac"], ''[[E!]]'', May 6, 2017. Accessed May 30, 2018. "'The first girls we heard screaming were not at Paramus Park Mall in New Jersey when we did our first public performance after "MMMBop" came out,' the father of four adds with a laugh."
33. McKay, Martha. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113936925/general-growth-properties-acquires/ "Nation's No. 2 mall builder to buy Rouse Co. Paying $12.6B for Paramus Park, Willowbrook parent"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', August 21, 2004. Accessed December 1, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "The nation's second-largest mall developer plans to buy the parent of Paramus Park, Willowbrook Mall, and Woodbridge Center. General Growth Properties, a giant Chicago-based mall developer, said Friday it will buy the storied Rouse Co. in a deal worth $12.6 billion."
34. Verdon, Joan. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113942143/lifestyle-center-at-paramus-park/ "New 'lifestyle' for Paramus Park; Addition to have rows of stores, Main Street look"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', April 28, 2008. Accessed December 1, 2022, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "The shopping center - bordered by Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway, and by Midland Avenue and East Ridgewood Avenue - has received approval to add 88,650 square feet to its west entrance. The addition would be designed to resemble a 'lifestyle' shopping center."
35. [http://www.paramuspark.com/directory "Directory"]. Paramus Park Mall. Retrieved January 2, 2012
36. Sullivan, S.P. [http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/05/paramus_park_mall_moving_forward_with_13-screen_movie_theater_addition_plan.html "Paramus Park Mall moving forward with 13-screen movie theater addition plan"]. [[NJ.com]]. May 24, 2013. Accessed December 18, 2017. "The Paramus Park Mall will move forward with plans to add a 13-screen movie theater to its stable of retails stores after a unanimous vote from the local zoning board Thursday, Paramus Patch reported. The owner of the mall had to seek a variance for the 88,000 square-foot expansion, the majority of which would be devoted to the movie theater. The expansion will be located on the west side of the mall, with the theater attached to the food court."
37. Verdon, Joan. (October 13, 2017). "Stew Leonard's to replace Paramus Sears". [[The Record (North Jersey).
38. (December 8, 2017). "Paramus Park seeks OK to swap Sears for Stew Leonard's". [[North Jersey Media Group]].
39. Pries, Allison. [https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/12/we-have-the-internet-and-american-dream-but-nj-malls-are-upping-their-game.html "These 8 N.J. malls are all upping their game. See the new plans."], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], December 29, 2019. Accessed December 22, 2025. "A vacant Sears has also transformed Paramus Park Mall into a different kind of destination. Now shoppers can get groceries there. Stew Leonard’s opened its first New Jersey grocery store in September at Paramus Park Mall, taking over an 80,000 square foot anchor position at the 45-year-old mall."
40. Verdon, Joan. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-uniqlo-moving-from-garden-sta/187271080/ "Uniqlo store to change malls; Chain to move to Paramus Park"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey). The Record]]'', July 7, 2018. Accessed December 22, 2025, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Uniqlo, the trendy, fast-fashion clothing brand from Japan, is preparing to open a store at Paramus Park mall next year. The retailer is expected to move out of its current Paramus home at Westfield Garden State Plaza when it is ready to open at Paramus Park, sources said. Paramus Park management confirmed Friday that the retailer will open a 13,000-square-foot store in that mall, in space adjacent to the former Sears department store."
41. Urbanski, Al. (January 6, 2026). "GGP lives again!".