FREEHOLD, N.J. (March 12, 2007) – Freehold Raceway Mall, a Macerich property (NYSE: MAC), today announced plans for the first renovation in the 1.4 million-square-foot center's 17-year history.
The comprehensive interior renovation will coincide with the center's 100,000-square-foot lifestyle expansion, which began construction in early 2007. The expansion is slated for completion in fall 2007; the interior renovation will be completed in spring 2008.
“This is an exciting time for Freehold Raceway Mall. With the current expansion underway, it was time to look at the interior of the center to see how we could make it an even more comfortable and pleasant atmosphere for our guests.” said Frank Lucia, senior property manager for Freehold Raceway Mall. “Together, these projects will bring a fresh new experience to the surrounding community.”
Macerich, working with project architect 505 Design, will bring a more sophisticated look to the center's interior, complementing the expansion's architecture. The renovation includes new floor tile, paint, lighting elements, and soft seating areas throughout the center. Sample sections of the new floor tile are currently located in areas of the upper and lowers levels of the mall.
“We are adding pattern, texture, softness, color and decorative lighting to make the mall brighter and to make visitors feel more comfortable and ‘at home',” commented Nick Igel of 505 Design. “The new environment will attract additional upscale tenants and tenants not yet in the market.” A focal point of the interior renovation will be the newly designed Center Court and water feature.
“We felt strongly that a water feature should be included in the design,” noted Lucia. “We wanted to ensure that a water feature and comfortable central gathering place continued to define our guests' experience at Freehold Raceway Mall.”
With the renovation, Freehold Raceway Mall will introduce a new Guest Services Center on the upper level of the mall. Guest Services will be redesigned to better accommodate the needs of the center's retailers and guests. For smaller guests, a new play area will be located in the Food Court.
A part of Monmouth County since 1990, Freehold Raceway Mall is an approximately 1.4 million-square-foot regional enclosed shopping center that offers more than 200 specialty stores and five major department stores. Located at the intersection of Routes 33, 9 and 537, Freehold Raceway Mall is owned and operated by Macerich. For more information, visit www.freeholdracewaymall.com.
Macerich is a fully integrated self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing, management, development and redevelopment of regional malls throughout the United States. The company is the sole general partner and owns an 84% ownership interest in The Macerich Partnership, L.P. Macerich now owns approximately 77 million square feet of gross leaseable area consisting primarily of interests in 73 regional malls. Additional information about Macerich can be obtained from the Company's Web site at www.macerich.com.