Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia suburbs is losing another mall. <\/p>\n
Neshaminy Mall, a 58-year-old Bucks County<\/a> institution, will not see another holiday season, according to Bensalem Township Mayor Joe DiGirolamo, who said the complex will close by the end of October.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very bittersweet,\u201d DiGirolamo said, \u201cbut the mall has been going downhill for the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n The 1-million-square-foot center has struggled with rising store vacancies and fewer customers, becoming fodder for TikTokers mourning their teenage stomping grounds.<\/a> <\/p>\n It will be the region\u2019s second mall to shut its doors this year, after Chester County<\/a>\u2019s Exton Square Mall closed in June. <\/p>\n Like in Exton<\/a>, Neshaminy\u2019s Boscov\u2019s will remain open, DiGirolamo said, as will the AMC Movie Theater and Barnes & Noble bookstore.<\/p>\n A handful of other mall tenants must close up shop by the end of October, DiGirolamo said. In November, township officials plan to remove the mall\u2019s dioramas, which depict key moments in U.S. history that took place in the Delaware Valley, as well as a bronze Native American statue, for preservation. <\/p>\n The mayor said the property\u2019s owners, Lakewood, N.J.-based Paramount Realty, want to knock down the mall and build something new in its place, though the company had not applied for a demolition permit or submitted redevelopment plans as of Tuesday. Such plans would require approval by township council. <\/p>\n Paramount Realty declined to comment.<\/p>\n The Philadelphia region is home to more than a dozen indoor shopping malls<\/a>. Some, including King of Prussia <\/a>and Cherry Hill<\/a>, appear to be thriving, while other centers like Neshaminy struggle. <\/p>\n A few have been transformed, or are in the process. In Media, Delaware County<\/a>, the 1-million-square-foot Granite Run<\/a> Mall was demolished in 2016 and replaced by a mixed-use town center with apartment buildings, new retail, and medical offices. <\/p>\n At the Neshaminy Mall site, near U.S. Route 1 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, DiGirolamo said he\u2019s \u201chopeful they are going to rebuild it in a way that most malls are rebuilt,\u201d in the town-center style with housing and outdoor walkways. <\/p>\n