By Sunayana Prabhu
EATONTOWN – Monmouth Mall, now rebranded as Monmouth Square, is rapidly transforming with the announcement of new leases for dining and retail outlets. Developer Kushner Cos. unveiled the latest wave of tenants, signaling the mall’s shift into an open-air destination. The full construction of Monmouth Square is expected to be completed in 2028. The expected leasing launch of nearly 1,000 luxury residences on the premises is set for the end of 2026.
Amid the redevelopment, Monmouth Square, a $500 million-plus project turning the historic Monmouth Mall into a modern, open-air destination for living, shopping, dining and leisure, is coming alive with a growing tenant roster, including businesses like Whole Foods Market, Prince Street Pizza, Cava, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, STRONG Pilates, and Offshore Coffee.
The new lease signings will take up nearly 50,000 square feet, bringing Mon- mouth Square’s retail and restaurant space to 75% pre-leased. Existing retailers AMC, Macy’s and Boscov’s are continuing to operate throughout the redevelopment.
The original mall had a gross leasable area of 1.5 million square feet. The redevelopment plan calls for the demolition of 600,000 square feet, leaving 900,000 square feet of leasable retail.
“At Monmouth Square, we are assembling a tenant mix that responds to the changing preferences of today’s consumers while enhancing the quality and variety of offerings for the area,” Nicole Kushner Meyer, president of Kushner Cos., said in a news release earlier this month. “These leading retailers and restaurants reflect our commitment to attracting the best operators, ensuring a destination that surpasses expectations and has a lasting impact on the community.”
Once one of the nation’s largest and a community staple for over 60 years, the historic mall has nostalgic value for many in the area. But Kushner is “de-malling” the aesthetic, the statement said, “to reduce its retail footprint by 40% and turn the traditional mall concept inside out, creating a vibrant town center.”
The design establishes a blend of free-standing, easily accessible spaces for shopping, dining and medical offices and an expansive public green, pedestrian pathways and 1,000 luxury apartments that will be rented and not for sale. The residences include one-, two- and three-bedroom plans with amenities such as a 40,000-square-foot clubhouse that includes a fitness center, spa/wellness space, juice bar/café and coworking lounge.
The mall will also feature medical, retail and entertainment uses, as well as an outdoor promenade, clubhouse and dog park. The retail area’s layout is similar to a 1960s-style open mall.
Monmouth Mall was a classic two-level enclosed shopping center. Located less than a mile from exit 105 of the Garden State Parkway, the space offered a mix of shopping, entertainment and dining options for the entire family for decades. However, in the past several years, business plummeted for many reasons, including the growth of online shopping and the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the main anchors of the mall shuttered – Lord & Taylor in 2018 and Ruby Tuesday restaurant in 2020; in 2022, JCPenney announced it was closing its brick-and-mortar stores, opting for an online marketspace. Last year the TGI Friday’s restaurant, a satellite property on the mall’s premises, closed.
In 2023, despite pushback from some residents, the Borough of Eatontown approved a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), a tax exemption for the next 30 years to Kushner Companies based on the developer’s testimonies during several borough council meetings. The developer argued that the mall’s property value had declined over the past few years, placing a heavy tax burden on the company, one of the largest taxpayers in the borough. The borough officials eventually agreed that a PILOT was needed to kickstart the adaptive reuse of the space which would also generate new revenue for the borough from the property.
Since breaking ground last spring, significant construction progress has been made at Monmouth Square.
Barnes & Noble opened its new location in November, featuring an updated B&N Café. This move cleared the way for construction on Whole Foods Market, which will serve as the mall’s anchor with a 40,000-square-foot footprint. Significant demolition of older spaces continues, along with extensive infrastructure improvements.
“Monmouth Square’s transformation is advancing with purpose, bringing together best-in-class retail and dining options that align with our vision for a vibrant, mixed-use community,” Mi- chael Sommer, chief development officer at Kushner, said in the press release. “The construction and leasing progress reflects both our team’s expertise and the strong partnerships we’ve built to execute a project of this scale and significance. We’re excited to see Monmouth Square take shape as a destination that sets a new standard for adaptive reuse and community development.”
Monmouth Square is situated on routes 35 and 36, less than a mile from exit 105 of the Garden State Parkway. Architectural design for the project is being led by Minno + Wasko Architects and Planners, Benoy, and the Dietz Partnership. The mixed-use space is expected to announce more tenants as construction progresses.
The article originally appeared in the March 27 – April 2, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
