Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) will hang on to the Garden State Plaza (GSP) in Paramus, New Jersey, the state’s second largest mall after American Dream Meadowlands entertainment shopping center in East Rutherford.
“We have taken the strategic decision to retain our high-performing U.S. flagship assets, which will deliver further growth and value creation,” said URW CEO Jean-Marie Tritant in a transcript of last week’s earnings calling.
“When it comes to the U.S., we have divested 17 noncore assets for $3.3 billion at 100%, at a time when the market was virtually closed. These deals represent over 1/4 of what enclosed mall transactions in the U.S. over that time. Now, 12 out of our 15 U.S. shopping centers are A rated, which represents 97% of our U.S.,” he said.
Garden State Plaza a Winner
The GSP is considered an essential financial component of URW’s business “high overall” sales of $893 million in 2023, according to an analyst note by Fitch Ratings. After restructuring its U.S. management platform, costs were slashed by more than 50%.
“When it comes to the U.S. portfolio, we have today 15 assets, out of which 12 are graded A. And somehow, you can expect that our portfolio would be in that range of 12 to 10 assets like that are really, really core to us going forward, but it doesn’t mean that we’ll go down to 10 in a very short time frame.”
Based on sales of $950 per square foot, the GSP ranked ninth nationwide in a 2018 CNBC mall study, despite the mall being largely closed on Sunday due to Bergen County Blue Laws, and minors under the age 18 being required to have an adult over 21 supervise them on Friday and Saturday nights.
GSP Development
A multi-year development of URW’s land surrounding the GSP is slated to include over 1,000 apartments, a hotel, senior center, additional retail, new town center/downtown, passive parks, and more. Demolition has begun for the megaproject, with a groundbreaking anticipated this year and initial tenants expected to move in before 2027 closes out.
Once the development is completed, Paramus will have a new town center that will serve as a hub for the community, with residences and green space complementing the mall’s existing retail, dining, and entertainment options.
About the Garden State Plaza
Every year, about 20 million people shop, dine, and have fun at the 2.2 million sq ft Westfield Garden State Plaza. Anchored by AMC Theaters, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Macy’s, the historic property features luxury, premium, and top brands in every retail category, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., Ferragamo, Burberry, Versace, Tory Burch, BOSS, Tesla, ZARA, NARS, Fabletics, and Apple.
The 16th largest shopping mall in the country, the GSP was the first suburban shopping mall in New Jersey, opening in 1957 as an outdoor strip of stores at the intersection of Route 4 and Route 17 near the Garden State Parkway and about 15 miles west of Manhattan. The mall was enclosed between 1981 and 1984 in response to competitive pressure from newer fully enclosed malls such as the Paramus Park Mall (1974) and Willowbrook Mall (1969).
