The Gallery at Market East

The Gallery at Market East
Location 9th & Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Opening date 1977[1]
Management Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust
Owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Macerich
No. of stores and services 130+ (230 at peak)
No. of anchor tenants 2 (4 at peak)
Total retail floor area 1,080,002 sq ft (100,335.5 m2)[1]
No. of floors 4
Parking 2 parking garages
Public transit access
  Broad Street Line Ridge Spur

: 8th Street

  PATCO Speedline

: 8th Street

  Market–Frankford Line

: 8th Street, 11th Street
SEPTA Regional Rail: Jefferson Station
SEPTA bus: 17, 23, 33, 38, 44, 47, 47M, 48, 61, 62, 78
New Jersey Transit bus: 400, 401, 402, 404, 406, 408, 409, 410, 412, 414, 417

Website galleryatmarketeast.com
Entrance

The Gallery at Market East, or "The Gallery" as it is known to locals, is an urban mall in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States with over 130 stores and a food court. The mall's major anchor stores are Burlington Coat Factory and Century 21. The mall's full name is based on the adjacent SEPTA station formerly called Market East Station (now Jefferson Station).

Layout and history

The mall was opened in 1977. It was later expanded as Gallery I and II in the early 1980s. The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) acquired the Gallery I in April 2003 from The Rouse Company. They acquired Gallery II in the third fiscal quarter of 2004 from the state's Public School Employees' Retirement System. The total complex measures approximately 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of retail space, and at its peak, had about 130 stores.

All four levels of the mall run parallel to Market Street, with access from the basement level of the now-closed Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street, the main entrance at 9th and Market Streets, to a concourse for SEPTA's Jefferson Station at 11th and 12th streets. The mall also accesses an underground concourse connecting the Market-Frankford Line at its 8th and 11th street stations. At the west end, a short concourse with an elevator and escalators connects the mall with the Reading Terminal Market, Hard Rock Cafe restaurant, the head house for the old Reading Terminal (now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center) and a Marriott hotel, which are all on the periphery. The downtown Philadelphia Greyhound bus terminal is immediately to the north, at 10th and Filbert Streets. The main entrance of the Convention Center is two blocks away on Arch Street, between 11th and 13th.

On the street level, The Gallery takes up the block between Market and Filbert Streets, between 9th and 11th streets. At 10th and Market Streets sits a vacant anchor spot that formerly housed two-floor Kmart. At 11th Street, Burlington Coat Factory holds a portion of the mall level, and some of the second and third floors; the space was originally built for a JCPenney.

The Gallery is composed of Gallery I on its east side and Gallery II on the west, although there is no longer any distinction between the two areas. Gallery I extends underground, and was formerly anchored by Strawbridge's at 8th Street and Gimbels at 10th Street. The Strawbridge's site, which had 522,000 sq ft (48,500 m2) of floor space, closed in 2006 and has been redeveloped. The building now contains offices from the 3rd floor on up, and a 2-level Century 21 department store on the 2nd floor and part of the street level. The lower level, and remainder of the street level remain vacant. In 1984, the concourse was continued to the west and Gallery II section opened to the public. The Gallery II, with its first and second levels now the focal point of the entire mall, is anchored between Burlington Coat Factory and a vacant spot that was formerly Kmart. It has about 50 other tenants, including major retailers Old Navy and Pay Half.

In September 2008, the developers of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia changed their proposed casino location to The Gallery at Market East, after enduring opposition from residents near the original proposed site in South Philadelphia. The new proposal was endorsed by both Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Ed Rendell. The original proposal for the Foxwoods Casino at The Gallery at Market East was for a 3,000-slot-machine casino on two floors currently occupied by Burlington Coat Factory, forcing that store to relocate. However, on February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers of the Foxwoods Casino were looking into locating their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's store.[2]

In January 2014, it was announced that Kmart would be closing its Gallery store in late April.[3] There are plans to turn the former Kmart space into multiple street-facing stores centered on an atrium along with redeveloping the mostly vacant top level of the mall.[4] It was announced in April 2014 that Century 21 would open an anchor store at the mall.[5] In July 2014, Macerich acquired a 50 percent stake in The Gallery at Market East and invested $106.8 million to redevelop the mall in a joint venture with PREIT.[6] As of 2015 many stores in The Gallery, including most restaurant concessions, have closed in preparation for the renovation of the complete whole entire mall; as of January 2015, whether the present underground access through The Gallery between the PATCO/Market-Frankford Line station at 8th Street will be preserved through the renovation process has not been decided.[7]

As of June 19, 2015, the $325 million remodeling of "The Gallery" has officially been approved by City Council and the legislation has been signed off by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. Demolition is set to begin in August 2015 with construction to last for two years and a grand opening expected some time in 2017.[8]

Anchors

Former anchors and majors

Transit connections

The following rail stations are connected to The Gallery:

Besides the SEPTA rail connections, various SEPTA city bus routes and New Jersey Transit bus routes have stops next to The Gallery. In addition, the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal, Philadelphia's primary intercity bus station, is located immediately to the north of The Gallery.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Gallery at Market East Property Overview". PREIT. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  2. ↑ Lin, Jennifer (February 26, 2009). "Another casino shift possible in Phila.". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  3. ↑ Van Allen, Peter (January 23, 2014). "Kmart Closing 2 Philly Stores; 289 Workers Affected". Philadelphia, PA: WCAU-TV. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ Saffron, Inga (May 3, 2014). "Changing Skyline: Bringing more life to the Gallery". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ Hepp, Chris (April 25, 2014). "Discount-apparel retailer Century 21 coming to the Gallery". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  6. ↑ DiStefano, Joseph N. (July 31, 2014). "Mall developer Macerich Co. to invest $106.8M in Gallery revival effort". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Russ, Valerie (22 January 2015). "Gallery Mall stores close for planned renovations". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Carrion, Angelly (June 19, 2015). "The Gallery Redevelopment Is Officially a Go". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2015.

External links

Coordinates: 39°57′07″N 75°09′24″W / 39.952076°N 75.156612°W / 39.952076; -75.156612

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