Fashion District Philadelphia is a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States, located in Center City along Market Street. It opened in 2019 on the site of a previous mall known as The Gallery and later renamed The Gallery at Market East. The Fashion District Philadelphia anchors currently include Burlington,

Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...

AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (doing business as AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC) is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered ...

, and

Round One Entertainment , stylized as ROUND1, is a Japan-based amusement store chain. In Japan, the amusement centers offer bowling alleys, arcade games, karaoke, and billiards. Select larger locations also include SpoCha, which is an abbreviation for “Sports Challe ...

History

Prior to the Fashion District Philadelphia, the space originally opened in 1977 as The Gallery. It was later expanded with the construction of The Gallery II in the early 1980s.

PREIT PREIT is a privately held company that owns and develops shopping centers, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states. The company was formerly known as Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust. History The company was founded by Sylvan M. Cohen (1914-2 ...

acquired The Gallery in April 2003 from

The Rouse Company The Rouse Company was a publicly traded shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when GGP Inc., General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. It was founded by Hunter Moss and James Rouse, James W. Rouse in 1939. Begin ...

and Gallery II in the third fiscal quarter of 2004 from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

's Public School Employees' Retirement System. The total complex measures approximately of retail space and at its peak had over 130 stores. The space was originally anchored by

Strawbridge & Clothier Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban empori ...

department store at 8th Street and

Gimbels Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the comp ...

department store at 9th Street. It later became part of the entrance to access SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines with the opening of the Market East Station, later rebranded for

Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. The university is n ...

as Jefferson Station. The mall also provided access to the underground

Concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...

that connects to the

Market-Frankford Line The L, formerly known as the Market–Frankford Line, is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The L runs from the 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby, just outside of West Philad ...

PATCO Speedline The PATCO Speedline, signed as the Lindenwold Line in Philadelphia and commonly referred to as the PATCO High Speed Line, is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

to New Jersey,

Broad Street Subway Line The B, formerly known as the Broad Street Line (BSL), is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs primarily north-south from the Fern Rock Transit Center in North Philadelphia ...

, the

SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines The T, formerly known as the Subway–Surface Trolleys, is a light rail trolley system of the SEPTA Metro serving Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The system comprises five trolley services that operate on street-level tracks ...

, and others. In September 2008, the developers of

Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia was a proposed casino to be located first along the Delaware River, then under pressure from local residents attempted to move to The Gallery at Market East in Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one ...

changed their proposed

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

location to The Gallery at Market East after receiving opposition from residents near the original proposed site in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

. The new proposal was endorsed by both Mayor

Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he is also a former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 4th di ...

and Governor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician, author, and former prosecutor who served as the 45th governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011. He previously served as chair of the national Democratic Party from 1999 to 2 ...

. The original proposal for the Foxwoods Casino at The Gallery at Market East was for a 3,000-slot-machine casino on two floors that were occupied by Burlington Department Store (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) which would have necessitated moving the store. However, on February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers had instead decided to locate their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's building. In January 2014, it was announced that

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

would be closing its Gallery store in late April. At the time, it was announced that there were plans to turn the former Kmart space into multiple street-facing stores centered on an atrium, and to redevelop the mostly vacant top level of the mall in other ways. In April 2014 Century 21 Clothing announced that it would open an anchor store at the mall, which has since closed. In July 2014,

Macerich The Macerich Company ( ) is a real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers. It is the third-largest owner and operator of shopping centers in the United States. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned interests in 52 propert ...

acquired a 50% stake in The Gallery at Market East and invested $106.8 million to redevelop the mall as part of a joint venture partnership with PREIT. As of June 19, 2015, the $325 million remodeling of "The Gallery" had been officially approved by the city council, and the legislation had been approved by Philadelphia Mayor

. Demolition started in August 2015, with construction expected to last two years and a grand opening sometime in 2017. According to the website for the Fashions Outlets of Philadelphia, the Burlington and Century 21 anchor stores would remain open during reconstruction.

In August 2017, the developers announced that outlets plan has been abandoned and the mall would instead feature a mix of retail, entertainment, and dining venues, much to that of a traditional shopping mall. The mall would effectively be renamed Fashion District Philadelphia. It was initially slated to reopen in the spring of 2018. However, the decision to move Burlington and add an

multiplex led PREIT to delay opening most of the revamped complex until 2019. The grand opening for Fashion District Philadelphia took place on September 19, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held. The AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8 dine-in movie theater opened on November 4, 2019. The opening of this movie theater marked the first time since 2002 that Center City Philadelphia had a multi-screen movie theater; Philadelphia had previously been the only major city in the United States without a multi-screen movie theater in the downtown area. On December 21, 2019, a

bowling and entertainment center opened at Fashion District Philadelphia. In October 2019, it was announced that

would open a store at Fashion District Philadelphia at the corner of 11th and Market streets. The store opened on September 16, 2021. Century 21 closed in 2020 as a result of the chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all stores. After PREIT filed for bankruptcy in 2020, PREIT relinquished its primary control of Fashion District Philadelphia on January 1, 2021, with Macerich taking over management of the mall. Macerich made a $100 million payment on a $301 million loan backed by Fashion District Philadelphia. On December 16, 2021, a Giant Heirloom Market grocery store opened in the ground level of the former Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street. The store later closed on December 28, 2024, citing poor performance and other problems at the location. On July 21, 2022, the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, the city's

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

franchise, announced its plans to build a new arena, 76 Place at Market East, on part of the site, costing at least $1.3 billion. The plans later fell through due to opposition and the 76ers agreeing to a deal with Comcast Spectator to instead seek to build a new arena in South Philadelphia Sports Complex. On April 17, 2023, Fashion District Philadelphia implemented a curfew for people under the age of 18 after 2:00 pm, in which they must be accompanied by a person over the age of 23. This curfew was implemented as a response to disturbances caused by crowds of teenagers in the mall. On December 11, 2023, PREIT filed for bankruptcy a second time and sold its share of Fashion District Philadelphia to Macerich, giving Macerich full ownership of the mall.

Transit connections

Jefferson Station entrance from Fashion District Philadelphia

The following rail stations are connected to Fashion District Philadelphia: * 8th St Station —

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

Market–Frankford Line The L, formerly known as the Market–Frankford Line, is a rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The L runs from the 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby, just outside of West Philad ...

, SEPTA Broad–Ridge Spur,

* 11th St Station — SEPTA Market–Frankford Line * Jefferson Station —

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite town ...

Besides the SEPTA rail connections, various

SEPTA city bus The City Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operate almost all of Philadelphia's public transit, including all six trolley, three trackless trolley, and 70 bus lines within city limits. Some of ...

routes and

NJ Transit bus NJ Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of NJ Transit, providing local and commuter bus service throughout New Jersey and adjacent areas of New York State (Manhattan in New York City, Rockland County, and Orange County) and Pennsylvania ...

routes have stops next to Fashion District Philadelphia.

Anchors

* Burlington *

* AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8 *

Former anchors

*Strawbridge's *Gimbels (1977-1986) *Stern's (1986-1990) *JCPenney (1983-2001) *Kmart (November 26, 1997 – April 27, 2014) *Clover * Century 21 (closed 2020) * GIANT Heirloom Market (closed 2024)

References

External links

fashiondistrictphiladelphia.com
- website for Fashion District Philadelphia

- 40 photos that show off Philly’s colorful new Fashion District {{Coord, 39.952076, N, 75.156612, W, type:landmark_region:US-PA, display=title Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Shopping malls in Pennsylvania Shopping malls established in 1977 Economy of Philadelphia Macerich Market East, Philadelphia