Morris Township opens new shopping center. See why officials call it one-of-a-kind
MORRIS TOWNSHIP — The 140,000-square-foot shopping center that officially opened in town on Tuesday is about more than just shopping, its owners said.
Four years in the making, the Morris Marketplace will also offer an outdoor educational play area unique to New Jersey, which local leaders hope will entice even more families to visit.
Representatives from developers Accurate Builders and DeVimy Equities, joined by township Deputy Mayor Bud Ravitz, cut the ribbon Tuesday morning for the new attraction on East Hanover Avenue. Twenty-eight businesses have signed leases at the center - located at the site of the former Colgate-Palmolive corporate campus; 17 of them have already opened since the start of the year.
"It takes more than just hard work and saying, 'I'm going to come to work from 9 to 5' to have such a project. It takes devotion and caring and sleepless nights to be able to get to this," said Accurate CEO Jack Klugmann. "To see it be successful and to see it booming like this really speaks for the product that it is."
New stores at Morris Marketplace
Existing retail options at the Marketplace range from a Burlington department store and Mattress Warehouse to food chains like Jersey Mike's Subs, Taco Bell and Panda Express. Other businesses expected to open soon include Cambridge Wines, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, a nail salon and an Italian restaurant.
A Lidl grocery store is opening in September, said DeVimy owner Robert Indig, and the rest of the tenants that have signed leases are scheduled to open in the next two to three months. The Marketplace has nine spaces that are still available for leasing, he added.
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Interactive 'Thinkscape' for kids
The completed project will also feature the Morris Marketplace Thinkscape, an area of six interactive learning exhibits located behind the buildings in the development. The space, Indig said, is designed to make the development a destination for families "not only to shop, but to gather."
The Marketplace has been in the works since the land was purchased in July 2019, Indig said. When construction slowed during COVID, the developers connected with the Museum of Makers + Innovators (MOMI), a Basking Ridge-based nonprofit that fosters children's love of learning through hands-on exhibits in public places.
MOMI co-founder Sara Sorenson worked with architects to create the "playful learning landscape" at the Marketplace. The free attractions include six "learning stations" where children can practice skills such as art, music, storytelling and memorization.
The stations are spread around an open area with chairs and tables where shoppers can sit while the children play. There's a stone mural, for example, known as the Creative Canvas, where kids will be able to draw chalk pictures. The components of each learning stop have been designed as public art to match the overall aesthetic of the outdoor space, Sorenson said.
The Thinkscape is expected to open to the public this fall. According to Sorenson, it will be the first location in New Jersey certified by the nonprofit Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network, and the first in the country associated with a commercial space.
"We're hoping that it will be, certainly, a draw to the area," she said. "The research shows that when families come to an area and they spend more time in it, they spend more (money), so it's a win-win."
Developer optimism
While the pandemic delayed the Marketplace's opening, Indig noted one "silver lining": It also fueled the public's desire to spend time in outdoor spaces. The Thinkscape and the wide variety of retail options create a combination that will excite shoppers and business owners alike, the developer said.
"It means everything to us to see this come to fruition," Indig said. "If you have a place like this, it just encourages people to come and to gather, and once they're coming and gathering and relaxing, that will benefit the retailers as well."
Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.
Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH
This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Morris Township Marketplace opens with unique 'learning landscape'
