BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo has served as the township’s mayor for 31 years.

During his tenure and as a longtime resident, he has seen the Neshaminy Mall thrive during its heyday, like most malls in the Philadelphia region.

But those days are long gone as the mall off Route 1 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike lost a chunk of customers when anchor stores closed, with Macy’s in 2017 and Sears in 2018. Neshaminy Mall was also the site for circuses, ice rinks, and carnivals, but those events are also no more.

“The Neshaminy Mall has to be redone,” the mayor told Patch recently. “It’s real dead now.”

But the 1-million-square-foot mall’s future has some hope.

The mall was sold last summer to Paramount Realty, which currently owns several other malls, including the neighboring Woodhaven Mall.

The entire property, excluding the former Macy’s, was included in the sale and positions this Property as an excellent redevelopment opportunity featuring a high-performing Boscov’s, Barnes & Noble, and a 24-screen AMC Theatre in addition to On The Border and UNO Chicago Grill, which are located outside the mall.

Mayor DiGirolamo has seen other malls in the Philadelphia region add some touches that are helping to turn the tables on slow sales and reduced traffic.

For example, the Plymouth Meeting Mall is now surrounded by restaurants to bring in customers. Meanwhile, the nearby Oxford Valley Mall has added apartments to help boost revenue.

“The mall needs the right kind of businesses,” the mayor said. “We need some kind of housing. But most importantly, the 100 acres need to be developed in the right way. The whole corridor and Street Road is too important.”

Fusion Gyms had planned a state-of-the-art gym and fitness center at the shuttered Macy’s Department Store, but the mayor said recently that those plans fell through.

Plans called for a vast fitness center with a 9-hole golf course, 30 golf simulators, 20 pickleball courts, and a Las Vegas-style swimming pool. Outside, there would have been another eight pickleball courts.