ICSC: International Council of Shopping Centers

Vornado buys Bergen Mall from Simon for $145 million

Vornado Realty Trust has bought Bergen Mall from Simon Property Group for about $145 million.

Paramus, N.J.–based Vornado said it would expand, retenant and redevelop the 1 million-square-foot Paramus property. The enclosed, two-level regional mall's anchors are Macy’s, Marshall’s, Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet and Value City.

Built in 1957 by Allied Stores Corp. at a time when department stores were heavily involved in shopping center development, Bergen Mall has played a significant role in several other national retailing trends.

Along with Garden State Plaza Shopping Center, now known as Westfield Shoppingtown Garden State Plaza, Bergen Mall helped spur shopping center development in North Jersey. The two Paramus malls also helped shift shopping activity from suburban and urban downtowns to outposts along major highways, according to Samuel Feinberg’s 1960 book, What Makes Shopping Centers Tick.

And Bergen Mall was among the first shopping centers in the United States to lease space to churches. In 1972, the mall leased to St. Therese Chapel, which continues to offer mass three times a day.

Bergen Mall and Garden State Plaza were early rivals, being equal-size regional centers built in the same year on Route 4, less than a mile apart. In recent years, however, Garden State Plaza has pulled ahead as a super-regional, expanding to 1.9 million square feet and signing such upscale anchors as Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Bergen Mall, meanwhile, is still the same size and has more moderately priced anchors and fewer in-line tenants.

Vornado bought Bergen Mall as part of a so-called like-kind exchange, using a portion of the proceeds from its recent sale of 2 Park Avenue, an office building in New York City.