NJ’s ‘mall capital’ Paramus, could get massive ‘downtown’ expansion

The Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus
Photo credit (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

PARAMUS, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- Paramus is often called the 'Mall Capital of New Jersey.'

But one mall has unveiled a plan for a new concept that would give residents of Paramus a 'downtown.'

In the age of Amazon even major malls like Garden State Plaze have to make sure people actually come to the mall. Westfield plans to do that with new stores, hotels, luxury apartments, open space parks, and a downtown area.

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“It’s really something that we’ve had on our mind for a long time here — to figure out: How do we implement a town green on the site?” said Stephen Fluhr, vice president of development at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which operates the mall. “This is even better, because it’s in this mixed-use environment that we can introduce multi-family living here.”

Some shoppers worry traffic jams will get worse.

"Honestly, I feel like the area is so overcrowded to begin with, and there's so much traffic and congestion between city project and the project they're doing down on Rt 3, the American Dream, and now adding this. I think it's too much for the area to handle," Dina from Rutherford said.

The 07652 zip code is known for the most retail in all of America, and it seems Paramus wants to keep it that way.

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