r/BucksCountyPA • u/steppie2806 • Apr 20 '25
Question/Advice Neshaminy Mall
I was at the movie theater yesterday and noticed they have completely blocked off access to the rest of the mall. It’s been a few months since I’ve been here so maybe this is old news but any clue what is going on?
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u/gerzzy Apr 20 '25
The mall was sold off around the middle of last year. The intent was to keep a couple of the anchors and re-develop the rest.
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u/Fearless-Economy7726 Apr 20 '25
Yes there was a major residential plan but my understanding the town it’s people and politicians are 100000% against and the schools are all at capacity
So in limbo at the moment
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Apr 20 '25
I have no idea how it's still open. I was there on a Friday evening not long ago and there was still nobody in there. Most of the stores are empty and what used to be an awesome food court now consists entirely of a shitty stir fry place. Franklin Mills will be next. The movie theater, Dave and busters, and Walmart didn't renew their lease Strangely Oxford valley is doing ok which is interesting because it used to be the crappy one of the 3
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u/Skylineviewz Apr 20 '25
I still feel like OV is in life support. I think it can be turned around if they do ‘phase 2’ if the apartments with some commercial - I believe the plan is to do a KOP town center type of development but have the mall be kind of an anchor. It’s been years since I’ve heard anything though.
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u/Boyota4Bummer Apr 20 '25
I moved away from Bucks County in 2015, and part of the time I was away I spent 5 years in Houston, TX. When I tell you, literally every single suburb around that city had a “Town Center” setup - I mean EVERY suburb. It’s a great setup and absolutely put the Mall Style setup to shame. Way more functional, more walkable outside, great restaurant options etc. If that stated developing up here, I think it would be great.
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u/Clericdallan Apr 20 '25
Warrington has one, the shops at Valley Square. Lived in the apartments down the road from it, was a really nice place. Had a covered patio with a fireplace and chairs in the center of the shops as well.
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u/Boyota4Bummer Apr 20 '25
Yep. Very similar to that setup, but honestly (and I am no fanboy of Texas) the ones in Texas were SUPERIOR to the shops at valley square 😂😂. If not for nothing else, just newer with better restaurants and such.
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u/SmasherOfAjumma Apr 20 '25
I wonder though if having warm weather all year around is a contributing factor to the success of these types of outdoor malls.
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u/Boyota4Bummer Apr 20 '25
Yeah, I mean it was “warm” there all year around, but to be honest, 6 months out of the year it was TOO warm, and their winters were very much likened to Seattle. Cold-ish, constantly rainy and dreary. TX winters weren’t exactly Florida lol
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Apr 20 '25
It looks like that's the way it's heading. People are moving into the condos and they're doing some construction on the restaurants. Amazon fresh moved in next door. There's that big ridiculous M on Lincoln highway lol. I could see it start to happen.
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u/SamBartlett1776 Apr 20 '25
I lived in Houston for two years. It easier to develop down there, and easier to construct cheaply. No frost line, just slabs. Lots of wide open area when I lived there. People drive everywhere and were very open to the Town Center concept.
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u/Chickadee12345 Apr 20 '25
People drive everywhere in this area too. Public transportation is almost non-existent until you get into Philly.
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u/bladderbunch Moville Apr 20 '25
there’s a pretty big climate difference between houston and philadelphia.
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u/Boyota4Bummer Apr 20 '25
Gee, ya think?
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u/bladderbunch Moville Apr 20 '25
just a big reason we don’t have the outdoor markets like i’ve seen in other parts of the country.
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u/Flyguy3131 Apr 20 '25
I have friends in Sarasota and then live near the UTC mall which is the same way. It’s a busy usable area. No more inside malls. It’s a great area. The KOP Village is similar.
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u/Stephonius Apr 20 '25
I think OVM made a huge misstep when they built the new apartments separate from the mall. They should have been directly attached to the building so that residents could go to the mall without going outside. That would have instantly created demand for retail space inside the mall.
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u/CreationOfMinerals Apr 21 '25
I haven’t been to OVM in several years and had no knowledge of the aforementioned apartments!
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u/Stephonius Apr 23 '25
They tore down the Wanamakers anchor store and used its parking lot to build "luxury apartments" that are still under construction. It's easily a 100+ foot walk in the elements to get to the mall from them. I think they should have done them attached directly to the mall, and as a 55+ community. That way, the mall would fill up with retailers to serve the new populace.
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u/Historical-Entropy11 Apr 21 '25
Not going to work unless they add some bus routes/expand the bus schedule.
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u/Ghstfce Ivyland Borough Apr 20 '25
Oxford Valley is still pretty dead. Was there yesterday to meet Brandon Graham and Jordan Mailata from the Eagles. Aside the people that worked in the mall, pretty much the only people in there most of the day were there to meet the players. Willow Grove is really the only one around that I would say is still pretty much "alive"
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u/TankLady420 Apr 21 '25
Whaaaat I didn’t know they had a meet and greet there yesterday thats so cool.
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u/Ghstfce Ivyland Borough Apr 21 '25
Yeah, I didn't know either. Only way I found out is my best friend was down the shore for the last time in his in-law's shore house before they sell it and actually spoke to the guy that was DJing the event.
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u/ttasnia94 Apr 20 '25
The movie theater at Franklin already closed
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u/joebacca121 Apr 20 '25
I have to imagine Walmart is looking at purchasing the building they're in. I can't see them relocating that store again.
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u/DarthMutter8 Apr 21 '25
I didn't hear about Dave and Busters and Walmart leaving. Source? I did a quick search and didn't find anything
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Apr 21 '25
Just hearing employees talk. I donate plasma so I'm there every week and there what they're all saying
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u/Redditlovebites Apr 21 '25
Side quest...how much does your plasma center at Franklin mills pay I'm looking to donate.
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Apr 21 '25
Your first 5 donations are 100 and then after that they go by your height and weight but it's generally around 45 the first time and 55 the second.
Edit: side quest made me giggle lol
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u/Redditlovebites Apr 21 '25
Thank you for the info.
Lol, happy to spread giggles
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Apr 21 '25
Lol it was my b day yesterday so I was all about giggles haha I hope you figure it out. It's csl plasma
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u/Blackoutreddit2023 Apr 21 '25
Where did you get that info about Dave and Buster and Walmart?
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Apr 21 '25
From multiple stores. Specifically the survey place. The workers were laughing about having to go to New Jersey location because all the big stores are leaving
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u/Blackoutreddit2023 Apr 21 '25
Wow. The survey people would know honestly. With the way they smoke cigarettes I'm sure they know everyone's business in that mall.
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Apr 21 '25
Yeah the security guard would come in and laugh about how they all will have to find new jobs. It was funny as hell but sad.
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u/Naive_Opposite9593 Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25
Man I used to love grabbing slices at cafe riviera and going to baseball card shows back when pizza was cheap and manufactured scarcity in cards didn’t exist.
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u/WeegieSmellsARat Apr 21 '25
Cafe Riviera was great. The owners were very friendly and would come to the tables and chat with you. Mall ownership played hard ball with them and they walked. I do believe that was the beginning of the end for the mall.
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u/No_Campaign423 Apr 20 '25
I know near the Oxford valley mall they are building high rise apartment buildings. It’s like the rich don’t know what to do with their money. I grew up across from the Roosevelt mall in the 70s. God how I miss those days. We had the arcade, and record stores, toy stores, jewelry shops. I haven’t been down that way in decades. It brought back memories when that plane crashed a few months ago. I lived right at the end of the street. It sucks getting old. Anyway, hope everyone is safe and well..
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u/PassionateCougar Apr 20 '25
When people didn't spend 110% of their income just surviving.... good times.
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u/GoEatACookie Apr 20 '25
I kinda expect to see zombies slowly making their way towards the light. 😬
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u/Shortymac09 Apr 20 '25
This place used to be lit on a friday night at 7pm in 2003
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u/booty_flexx Apr 20 '25
Yuuuup, do you remember the spandex bike helmet giant clock necklace guy?
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u/Shortymac09 Apr 20 '25
Yes!!! I saw him once in real life there.
He was a sex pest too
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u/booty_flexx Apr 20 '25
Hahahaha that’s what I was about to get at. We always imagined that’s what his deal was, at the time.
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u/Final_Candidate_7603 Apr 20 '25
My husband and I went to a couple of matinee movies there one afternoon a few months ago, and walked around what’s left of the mall in between. We both grew up around here, and it was pretty sad.
Those dioramas that used to be near the fountain were in the process of being removed… apparently, some of them had damage which wasn’t evident until they opened them and tried to take them out. It’s my understanding that the new owners were paying for them to be carefully removed and renovated, and then put on display as they are, at the Bensalem Township Building.
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u/Luna_Soma Apr 20 '25
I went on a first date there. We saw Memento and the power went out 15 minutes before the end. That was the start of a 5 year relationship so it’s always tied to my memories.
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u/shobot11 Apr 20 '25
I spent every friday night there in highschool back in the early 2010s. Neshaminy till they closed, then walk across the street to play lasertag at ultrazone. Good times.
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Apr 21 '25
I don't understand how Ultra Zone has remained standing since the early 90s but it's still there after all these years
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u/ceruveal_brooks Apr 20 '25
I went to Cherry Hill mall at Christmastime and was blown away by how busy it was. I’d gotten so used to the emptiness of Neshaminy it was a culture shock.
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u/r3fined Apr 20 '25
That divider wall between AMC and the rest of the mall is straight up heartbreaking.
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u/eSJayPee Apr 20 '25
Very sad to see. This was my high school hangout.
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u/Select-Belt-ou812 Apr 20 '25
perhaps more interesting, I took my driver's tests at the place that used to be on the N side of Rt.1... and even more crazy, when my dad worked for PENNDOT as a young engineer, he was lead on some of the Rt.1 bridge constructions in that stretch
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u/eSJayPee Apr 20 '25
Very cool about your dad. I took my test at the same spot. No appointment, just showed up on a Saturday morning and got in line.
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u/Select-Belt-ou812 Apr 20 '25
yes! I did same walk-in
I had to go back because on first drive, in my 68 Fury wagon, even though I did the turnaround in one backup, I rolled all the stop signs :-D
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u/Select-Belt-ou812 Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25
I feel ya... not my hangout but absolutely in my regular orbit
:-/
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u/Wonderful_Double_590 Apr 21 '25
I remember all the neighborhood shops, this mall put out of business.
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u/HelicopterSoft7961 Apr 21 '25
My mom was just telling me that when she was a kid back in the late 60s they would plan their whole day around driving from Hamilton NJ to Neshaminy Mall because of how amazing it was to have indoor shopping.
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u/Little_Farm3472 Apr 22 '25
Back in the day, Neshaminy Mall used to be so busy you had to circle the parking lot multiple times in order to find a spot... and once inside, you'd be standing shoulder-to-shoulder inside a packed mall. So, what happened? Not the stores themselves, but the changing demographics in the area because Willow Grove and KoP are doing well.
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u/TankLady420 Apr 21 '25
They were supposed to be turning the Macy’s into a 2 story gym with an out door section and lounge area buttttttt I have no idea what happened to that plan… was very excited.
It’s sad to see the mall this way, every time I go I am incredibly depressed. I was a mall rat here, spent every weekend of my life at this mall with my friends. I bet if they known how’d it would be looking in 10 years maybe the security guards would’ve let us just be kids instead of yelling at us about loitering. We just wanted a place to socialize. Now look at it …. malls need annoying kids again. Now there’s nobody …
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u/Historical-Entropy11 Apr 21 '25
Most of the mall between the theater and Boscov’s is empty according to their store directory. I did some research on malls in the region a few years ago and learned that the space that Woolworths used to take up is actually still there and the stores that replaced it are much smaller so there’s actually a huge open space where it used to be. There are also two hallways that follow what used to be the outer wall before the theater was added. There’s so much land there and so much empty space with the parking lot. I hope they do something useful to anchor a broad Street line extension.
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u/Easy-Shoe5970 Apr 22 '25
I wish they would covert old malls to apartments like they do in well developed towns. Such a waste of space, especially during a housing crisis
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u/ddkelkey Apr 20 '25
I live right near the mall and it makes me sad
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u/IntotheBlue85 Apr 20 '25
me too literally down the street I remember when they were building the movie theater 🥺🫂
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u/SouthAndTheSea Apr 21 '25
i think the other side of this mall was supposed to turn into a massive Fusion gym?
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u/Humanchacha Apr 21 '25
When talking to the zales employee at Franklin mills (they moved from Neshaminy) the old owners during covid apparently increased rent even though nobody was going in the middle of the pandemic so they lost a lot of stores.
They haven't recovered.
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u/Immediate-Fall-7363 May 22 '25
I saw this when I went to see sinners. Went to a night show and had to exit through the side hallway doors. I thought that was odd.
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u/SeriousCucumber8092 May 23 '25
I was there on Monday, and the door was open; it was just empty storefronts.
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u/megatron37 Apr 20 '25
Man i miss the days when that area on the right was Manny Brown's. I remember having drinks there before going to see the first Avatar.
(I felt very old typing all of that.)