Sears closing means Ocean County Mall needs overhaul

February 20, 2018

Ocean County’s older population seems to have protected its mall; both J.C. Penney and Macy’s have closed stores elsewhere.

But experts warn that the trend isn’t reversing itself. As many as a quarter of the nation’s 1,200 malls will close in the next five years, a report last year by Credit Suisse predicted.

Some developers are trying to shift gears. The owners of Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, for example, have proposed a massive overhaul by adding high-density housing to the mix.

“You have a lot of malls that once they lose their key anchor tenants really need to totally reinvent themselves,” Rutgers University economist James W. Hughes said.

Asbury Park Press, February 20, 2018

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