Moorestown Mall Deemed Area In Need Of Redevelopment

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Moorestown Mall has now been recognized as an area in need of redevelopment, paving the way for a proposed housing and hotel project on the site.

Moorestown Council unanimously adopted a resolution to accept the planning board’s recommendation at Monday night’s meeting. The planning board voted to make the recommendation on Feb. 4.

The designation means tax breaks are available to owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) and any other entity looking to develop on the site.

In January, PREIT entered into a rezoning agreement to allow a proposed apartment complex and hotel on the property. Up to 1,065 units may be built, with a portion set aside for affordable housing. Read more here: Moorestown Mall Owner Anticipates $150M From Apartment Complex, Hotel

PREIT has begun to mix retail with an investment in food and entertainment, including Regal Cinemas, Joe Italiano's Maplewood, Hash House A Go Go and The Yard House.

The decision to deem the mall as an area in need of redevelopment allows the township to begin discussing the potential development, which includes 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. It also calls for the construction of a hotel on the property. Read more here: Affordable Housing Complex, Hotel Approved For Moorestown Mall

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.

The agreement includes a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) on the residential aspect of the plan only.