First, let me say that I did recognize the outside grounds were marginally better with landscaping, signs and a noticeably clearer look. I can say that the new owner kept up their promise to improve the experience, but is it enough?
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| Granite Run Mall Store Front.....Vending Machines |
With online shopping, better stores and shopping experiences out towards Concordville, the pressure will continue to mount against the Granite Run Mall. A continued weak economy and shopping trends favoring "town center" experiences, the best strategy may be one of exit for a retail complex that may have outlived its use.
Put a fun center in like, I believe, Franklin millls had
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but the clientele there is scaring people away. I won't go there on a weekend night with my kids. Went there not long ago and my little one had to use the public restroom--there were teenagers in there doing all sorts of bad things. Felt like the Gallery downtown and not the GR Mall from our youth!
ReplyDeleteAre talking about the bus from Chester?
DeleteGiant Paint Ball Urban Arena, or rollerskating complex.
ReplyDeleteI came here to say this... well done Anonymous... well done.
DeleteAbout 5 years ago they were talking up a big renovation. What ever happened to that? They were supposed to knock down the movie theater and build a brand new one on the parking lot fronting Baltimore Pike. Was supposed to have a giant bookstore with upscale bookend restaurants. So much for that, eh? It was always a second tier mall anyway. Unless they commit to a major league upgrade the slide will continue. Either way it's good for Media and State Street.
ReplyDeleteThey need a new anchor store. Boscov's parking lot is always empty. I also think they need a fun center like franklin mills mall. If they would model a successful mall and implement the right changes it could come back again. Also get some real security to get rid of the bad crowd that is there. They need to start kicking people out and banning them from returning.
ReplyDeleteBulldoze it and replace it with either a real town center (where people actually live, work, obtain services like dry cleaning, hardware stores, etc.) or a working farm.
ReplyDeleteWould have been nice if the Franklin Mint buyers bought this place instead and the Mint site became dedicated open space or a park.
Has anyone been to the MacDade Mall lately? Is Granite Run starting to resemble it in terms of vacancy? The only time I go to Granite Run is on Saturday or Sunday mornings as soon as they open. I have no kids but if I had a young family I would not want to be there any other time because the atmosphere is not family friendly after a certain time of day.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they should shoot a movie there since there so few patrons they could be the extras. A scary theme would be appropriate. Valley of the pervs sounds about right.
DeleteAnon 11:33 I agree the mall is the perfect setting for a movie. Maybe something with a zombie theme. Mall cops with AK-47's trying to put down the zombs but to no avail. Busses from Chester turning over as Zombies eat the dead. Are we down with that?
DeletePeter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones" was shot at the MacDade Mall a few years back! :)
DeleteIn the mid seventies when GRM opened along with tw Springfield Mall Media's downtown was devestated.Media was a ghost town on Saturday night.
ReplyDeleteBoy how things have changed.Small towns arew cool again.Something I always knew.Feel bad though the mall was just like what was portrayed in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.Some fun memories..Farrells Ice cream...
There is no need to have both an open space destroying town center at the Franklin Mint AND the Granite Run Mall.
ReplyDeleteWhy not just knock down major portions of that mall, build the town center there, and leave the Franklin Mint as open space?
On a side note, Boscov’s needs to stay open. It’s the only place I can go to purchase suits, etc. without having my wallet or fashion sense assaulted.
The main problem with riff raff and the other “element” at the Granite Run mall stems from the welfare queens in Middletown Township who are too cheap to pay for their own police force. If Middletown wasn’t ripping off the other taxpayers in the state, they might have their own police to keep a better eye on things at the mall. The state police clearly have more important things to do.
Yes, which is what I suggested above: leave the former FM site as open space, a park, or let it go wild; retrofit or knock down the GRM and replace it with an actual town center (where people can live, work, and not just shop for junk/junk food/crap they don't need).
Deletewhat private owner will leave a piece of property as "open space" out of the goodness of their hearts?
DeleteWhere's the common sense with you people?
My initial post said "Would have been nice if the Franklin Mint buyers bought this place instead and the Mint site became dedicated open space or a park." What I am saying is, I would have preferred if the developers who bought the Mint site had INSTEAD purchased the GRM site and turned that into a real town center.
DeleteOf course there are hardly any private owners who would leave their property as open space out of the goodness of their hearts. As for the mint site, I think it would have been better if a buyer just adapted the existing spaces to a new use.
Its not that simple. The anchor Stores in Boscov's, JCPenney and Sears, not to forget Kohl's, Sears Auto and AMC Cinemas could be owned by those respective retailers. In addition, legal agreements between the mall and those anchors could prevent a full scale demolition or 'decommissioning' of the mall. Finally, you have existing leases with sizeable buyouts ranging from 5 to 30 years within the mall and creditors expecting to see returns. All in all, tearing down the mall could take over a decade and at a cost well above and beyond what the developers at the Franklin Mint will see.
Deleteknock it down and put in a wegmans! please!
ReplyDeleteAgree with most sentiments...with the exception of my favorite: Wegman's is not going to come to this demographic - the above-mentioned undesirable mall/surrounding-population - (tho the Mint ppl used the false promise of them as one of their ploys to get what they wanted back in the day.)Most notably because one seems to be coming to Britton Lake area. It would be awesome if they would, but its not likely!
ReplyDeleteOther than razing it to make a good, working farm -- trashing what's there -- as opposed to finding a better use for it or cleaning it up as a mall -- seems to be quite a waste of resources in this flailing economy...Not to mention the already noted ownership and legal complications.
Maybe the slow but sure addition of some VERY up-scale retail that doesn't interest the current population of bussed-ins (?)with some SERIOUS security for a while?.. Just some thoughts...
How about considering some of the things done at the Plymouth Meeting Mall? Up to date Movie Theater; use up some of the extra parking lot space for additional restaurants; entertainment venues like Dave and Busters, and ; Premium Grocery Store (with bar). They've made it into an entertainment destination where you can spend a whole night - not just a big shopping center. They even kept the Boscov's and the church.
ReplyDeleteThe mall has plans to tear down the old Movie Theater and repalce it with more retail space. A new Movie Theater is going in side the mall upper level soon. They are just waiting to see what Movie Theater company wants to come in the mall. A lot of stores will be moved around in the mall and relocate in side the mall to make way for the new Movie Theater. This will happen some time soon. And the mall has plans to put in more corporate stores.
ReplyDelete