Watchung Square Mall

Watchung Square Mall is a shopping center located in Watchung, New Jersey. It features Walmart, Target, Stop & Shop, The Home Depot, T.J. Maxx, and Staples.
== History ==
The concept for the shopping center was created in 1994 when developer Sal. A Savino, the head of Fidelity Land Development of Chatham, contracted to buy the 78-acres of the former Lockheed Electronics site, which closed four years prior. Davino worked with Watchung officials to have the site rezone from industrial to highway commercial use, including retail. The project consisted of 17 stores being built, including a 125,000 square foot Target, a 124,000 Home Depot, a 66,000 square-foot supermarket, a 10,000 Modell’s Sporting Goods, and a 12-screen Regal movie complex. Lockheed razed the complex, and cleaned up the site, which contained levels of trichloroethylene, a cleaning solvent, to accommodate the shopping center. The shopping center was later approved by the borough planning board in 1997, and began construction on August 1999.
Patrick Marchetta of Lyndhurst designed the shopping center to compromise of six low-rising buildings, scattering at the edges of the sloping site, with parking for 3,300 cars in front of the stores and the site’s core.
The development of the shopping center raised oppositions for nearby residents in the boroughs of Watchung and North Plainfield. Concerns were raised about the shopping center creating more traffic, along with it increasing water runoff. Mayor Addario later conceded the concerns of increasing traffics, and noted that Davino agreed to carve out two retention basins to decrease the water runoff, along with the widening of Route 22 from four lanes to six lanes via $5 million in off-site road improvements, among environmental, design, and traffic concerns. Davino also acquired an additional 12 acres from Lockheed to relocate the movie theater to the southwest corner of the site, further away from any residences, after the northwest corner of the site, where the movie theater had originally been planned to be built in, was donated to the borough.
Despite all the concessions done, they haven’t sastified all objectors. After the project was granted it’s approval, the borough of North Plainfield and two residents sued, contending that Watchung had acted in an obituary manner in granting its approvals. Then mayor of North Plainfield, Janice Allen, stated that the key issues for the community were traffic and drainage problems, given that the borough lies in a flood zone. She later argued that the borough would be hurt by the project, with concerns now focusing on the issue of groundwater contamination. 
Even though the soil on the Lockheed site had been cleaned, contaminants have appeared to have been filtered into the groundwater below and were migrating off-site, affecting the groundwater in North Plainfield. Davino later stated that him and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection confirmed that Lockheed was putting in more monitoring wells to identify the source of contamination, and once located, has agreed to install a pump and treatment station. Loretta O’Donnell, a department spokesman, stated: "Regardless of the process the developer can move ahead with developing the site.” 
Sal. A Davino stated that the years of negotiation and litigation had added to the cost of the project, which increased from $75 million to $90 million. The cost included the acquisition of the additional land. Davino saw a silver lining when construction was starting, stating the retail market was that stronger, noting that majority of his tenants remained with the project. The shopping center decreased the retail vacancy along the 21-mile Route 22 corridor from Union to Somerville from 7.3 perfect to 5.2 percent, according to Brunelli & Company, a retail brokerage in Old Bridge.
The shopping center officially opened on August 5, 2001, when T.J. Maxx became the first store to open its doors, which drew a crowd due to the shopping center’s long-awaited arrival. Sometime later in August, another store, P.C. Richard & Son opened (not yet to the public), along with a Designer Shoe Warehouse opening on August 24, 2001.
In October 2001, The Home Depot opened its doors, along with Target opening on October 14th. P.C. Richard & Son, after been unopened to the public for two months, held its grand opening ceremony on October 11th, once the chain's patriarch, A.J. Richard, visited on his 92nd birthday. A month later on November 2001, Borders opened its doors. Regal Cinemas ended up withdrawing from the project, and thus, a wing of additional stores were planned for west end of the shopping center. 
Stop & Shop, a 66,000 square-foot planned supermarket opened in 2003. 
Walmart, previously planned as a Regal Cinemas and later additional retail space, opened on January 28th, 2004. 
== Current Tenants ==
* Walmart
* Target
* The Home Depot
* Stop & Shop
* T.J. Maxx
* Staples
* P.C. Richard & Son 
* Michaels
* Petsmart
* DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
* Dick’s Sporting Goods (Dick’s Warehouse Sale)
* America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses
* Carter’s
* Old Navy
* Gap (Gap Factory Store)
* Famous Footwear
* GameStop
* Kirkland’s Home
* Standard Tile
* Fluid Designs
* Great Clips
* Better Than Philly 
* Trevi Square Pizza
* Big Blue Swim School
* Kids Empire
== Former Tenants ==
* Borders (closed in 2011)
* Ulta Beauty (relocated to 1630 U.S 22, Heritage Square in 2019)
* Stein Mart (closed in 2020)
* Modell’s Sporting Goods (closed in 2020)
* A.C Moore (closed in 2020)
* Bed Bath and Beyond (closed in 2023)
Category:Plazas
Category:Plazas in the USA
Category:Shopping Centers
Category:Shopping Centers in New Jersey
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