Bucks County’s first shopping mecca, the Neshaminy Mall, is set close before the end of the year, two years after it was purchased with plans for large-scale redevelopment that could be unveiled as early as this month.
Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo confirmed Sept. 14 that demolition for most of the mall is set to start in December, though the AMC-24 Movie Theater, and popular anchor stores, Boscov’s and Barnes and Noble, will remain at the property off Route 1 at the border of Philadelphia and Bucks County.
It was not immediately known on Monday if those three businesses will remain open during the demolition and redevelopment of the 91-acre property which includes more than 1 million square feet of retail space.
DiGirolamo said he recently met with the owners, but he has not seen the redevelopment plan, and no plans have been filed. The property owner, Paramount Realty and Edgewood Properties, has not discussed its plans since it purchased the property in 2024 for $27.5 million.
Paramount Realty and Edgewood Properties spokespeople did not immediately respond to email messages Sept. 14 seeking information about the plans for the property. Mall Manager Peter Conte also did not immediately return a voice message.
The developer is anticipated to present the redevelopment plan to the Bensalem Council either this month or next month, according to Robert Norkus, executive director of the Bensalem Economic Development Corporation.
On Monday Lower Southampton resident Steve Curran, who was visiting the Bensalem mall, said he is sad to see the mall go, but that with online mega retailers like Amazon, its tough for retail stores to stay open.
“I hate to see it go. It was always a place, convenient to shop, to pick up what you needed. But that’s not true anymore,” said Curran, who was at the Starbucks in the Barnes and Noble. “I don’t think it’s survivable in this kind of environment. I think it has to have more than just retail stores, it needs something else to attract people.”
The pleasant background music that piped through the shopping center Monday offered an eerie echo. Most storefronts are either empty or covered over. Only 15 stores are left, but most were empty.
At “On the Go,” which sells travel accessories, the owner-operator posted a sign Monday morning saying the store would reopen at 2:30 p.m. The niche retailer has been located at the mall for 25 years.
The once bustling food court has one place left, a stir fry restaurant. But no one was buying Monday.
Boscov’s was the busiest place. Customers were not surprised to hear that the mall will be demolished, but we’re please to hear Boscov’s is staying open.
“If they close Boscov’s, they might as well close the mall,” said Rita Haegele, who was picking up a couple of autumn chrysanthemums, among other items.
“I got married the year (Neshaminy Mall) it opened, and as long as Boscov’s is here, I’ll keep coming here,” she added.
Within the next three weeks Bensalem Township plans to remove the remaining three dioramas depicting scenes from early American colonial history that have sat outside the former Macy’s for decades, DiGirolamo said.
The township has already removed four other dioramas and two have been fully restored including their animatronic functions, DiGirolamo said. The two are located at the Mercer Museum and the Bensalem Municipal building.
The pieces, part of the “The Wall of Freedom” have been on display since the mall opened Aug. 18, 1968, part of a historic display that the Strawbridge family commissioned outside its former store.
The other historic piece of art that will be preserved is the 55-year-old bare-chested Lenni-Lenape Chief Tawanka bronze statue located outside the former Macy’s since 1970. It was created by American Sculptor Henry Mitchell, whose works are public installations found throughout Philadelphia.
DiGirolamo said the statue could be incorporated in the redesign, but if not, he intends to have the township remove and preserve it.
As recently as March, DiGirolamo said the redevelopment of the Neshaminy Mall was in its conceptual phase.
Earlier this year, DiGirolamo said the developer is considering bringing in large chains such as Walmart and Whole Foods and it could include an interior walking area. The redevelopment could include a mix of commercial and residential uses, he added.
Earlier this year longtime retailers Bath and Body Works, Torrid and Shoe Carnival closed their businesses leaving behind less than two dozen retailers in the mall.
As of December, only one restaurant was operating in the food court and only a few kiosks were scattered throughout the concourse.
Some of the vacant retail spots have been filled by nontraditional businesses such as the beauty school Jean Madeline Aveda Institute, a pop-up wedding venue and The Bridge Church, which opens for service three days a week.
