Mall town: Paramus, N.J.‘s four vintage malls have changed with the times

New Jersey’s The Record newspaper studied four Paramus, N.J., landmark malls and discloses how the owners plan to renovate and even reinvent the properties in an effort to assure that their future will be as vibrant as their past. Those malls are Fashion Center Paramus, which enjoys a grade-A location and was among the first in the state to “demall” itself, by closing off its interior and providing exterior entrances for the retail tenants; The Outlets at Bergen Town Center (originally the Bergen Mall when it opened in 1957), which is adding some 80,000 square feet to meet demand from retailers vying to get into the center; Paramus Park (opened in 1974), which is seeking approval to add a supermarket and a movie theater; and Westfield Garden State Plaza (opened in 1957 and one of America’s fortress malls), which has just completed some $500,000 in improvements, including the conversion of its food court into a dining bistro.