What could a new Neshaminy Mall look like? Here's one developer's vision to bring it back

When they replaced America’s Main Street shopping districts, climate-controlled malls became the new town square, where teenagers met and everyone shopped before chowing down at the food court.

“That’s over,” said Tony Chowdhary. “The old-style mall is done. They didn’t evolve with times and changing tastes.”

Double-whammied by online retailers like Amazon and big-box stores like Walmart and Target, mega malls were largely abandoned by consumers.

Take Bucks County’s two biggest, Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown and Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem.

Oxford Valley, owned by Simon Properties, tore out one of its shuttered anchor stores and sold additional acreage for luxury apartments, now under construction.

Previously Neshaminy Mall being sold 'as is.' What the buyer will get with this Bensalem property

Neshaminy Mall, a shopping destination since the 1960s, is up for sale “as is,” by owner Brookfield Properties.

Chowdhary, founder of Fusion Gyms, isn’t worried. He’s purchasing the shuttered Macy’s at Neshaminy for his next Fusion Gym, this one with pickleball courts, pools, golf simulators and other eye-popping amenities for people who like “affordable luxury.”

The old malls hopped because they have the gold standard of real estate: location. What they don’t have is convenience. Their future?

“Take a look at (strip) shopping centers. Drive past them. What do you see? Full parking lots. Packed parking lots,” Chowdhary said.

People still like to leave home and shop in brick-and-mortar stores.

“But something has to make them want to go,” he said.

As part of the plan to redevelop the old Boscov's site at the Oxford Valley Mall, officials said the new apartments, and their residents, could drive change at the center, potentially bringing in new stores and opportunities.

Convenience is also key. Malls no longer hop because they make you hoof. You park in a vast macadam lot, walk to an anchor store, then walk through the anchor to whatever shop you’re headed.

“It’s why a lot of them are half empty,” Chowdhary said. “People no longer go to malls because (big box) shopping centers are more convenient, and malls are kind of a hassle. People want to pull up to the store where they want to shop, get in and get out. It’s that simple.”

“They’re going to have to blow these old malls up and reconfigure them. Turn them inside-out. Make it easy and people will come,” he said.

He used the old Coventry Mall in Pottstown as an example.

Its storefronts will be turned outward, like a strip mall, and returned to what it was when it opened in 1967 (the same year as Neshaminy) before it was enclosed in the 1973. It will be re-christened “The Shoppes at Coventry.”

“They ripped the roof off the place,” Chowdhary said.

The old malls had the biggest names in retail. And while some will stay, there must be something novel that recaptures the buzz the old malls had in their prime. Fusion Gyms might do that.

“We’re the new mall anchors,” he said.

Anchors generate foot traffic for smaller stores. Foot traffic generates retail sales.

“Think of it this way. How often do you go to a Macy’s, as opposed to how often do you go to a gym? A lot more. If you have a mix of shops and attractions that people want, and you put a Fusion right next to it, you’re going to drive a lot of foot traffic. Thousands of visits a day.

“You put in a Nike (store), Lululemon, Under Armour, sneaker stores, GNC and vitamin shops. Small grocery stores like Sprouts (Farmers Market). You’re going to draw people,” he said.

“Going to the mall has to be about the experience, and they have to give people something to talk about,” he said.

Movie theaters, for example.

“Better movie theaters now have great food, are more comfortable and offer more than just movies,” he said. “It’s a full-on experience. The old movie theaters had 250 to 300 seats. Now they have 75 to 100 seats, but those seats are comfortable lounge chairs that recline.

“They know that the experience you have in the movie theater has to be better than what you experience watching a movie at home,” he said.

Neshaminy? No worries. It’s poised to be the comeback kid of malls.

“It’ll be great,” Chowdhary said. “Once we’re in there, we’re going to create a lot of synergy. Shops, boutiques, all kinds of mixed uses.”

The future is bright, he said.

JD Mullane can be reaches at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Reimagining the Neshaminy Mall -- what's the future?