Willow Grove Park Mall is a three-story shopping mall located in the community of Willow Grove in Abington Township, Pennsylvania at the intersection of Easton Road and Moreland Road (Pennsylvania Route 63) in the Philadelphia suburbs.
[5] The Willow Grove Park Mall serves as a transit hub for SEPTA bus routes 22, 55, 95, 310, and 311.
The mall is also near the Willow Grove station on the Warminster Line of SEPTA Regional Rail.
[11][12][13] In addition, a relocated two-story 17,000 square feet (1,579 m2) Forever 21 opened in a small portion of the former Strawbridge's in December 2011.
[2][22] The mall also contains a food court with eleven spaces as well as three sit-down restaurants: The Cheesecake Factory, TGI Fridays (closed January 2024), and Yard House.
In 1978, Federated Department Stores and The Rubin Organization announced plans to build a US$25 million mall on the site of the former amusement park.
The developers of the Willow Grove Park Mall were Federated Department Stores and The Rubin Organization and the architect was RTKL.
[25] When the mall opened, the original anchor stores were Bloomingdale's, Abraham & Straus, and B. Altman and Company.
[27] In 1984, Federated Department Stores sold its share of the mall to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States for US$43 million.
[27] In 1988 Abraham & Straus closed and became Strawbridge & Clothier, which had relocated to the mall from a store in Jenkintown.
[7][29] The mall was acquired by PREIT and the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System in 2000 for US$140 million from a group of pension fund clients managed by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments.
[25] In 2001, the mall underwent a major renovation which included the addition of Macy's as an anchor, the construction of a 212,000 square feet (19,695 m2) parking garage with 800 parking spaces adjacent to Sears and the food court, and the addition of a carousel at the third-floor entrance opposite the food court.
[37] On January 24, 2018, the Abington Township Board of Commissioners approved plans for a Studio Movie Grill in the former JCPenney space.
[9] On November 25, 2006, during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year after Thanksgiving, a small fire broke out in the Forever 21 store that forced the evacuation of 6,000 shoppers; no injuries were reported.
[39][40] On the evening of June 15, 2011, a 16-year-old boy from Upper Moreland Township who was smoking synthetic cannabis jumped from the third level of the parking garage, suffering injuries.
[41] On April 13, 2023, a criminal incident at the mall gained viral attention in which shoplifter Abdi Wasuge attempted to steal products from the Apple Store on the second floor and vaulted over a railing in an attempt to escape authorities following a confrontation with another person, breaking his pelvis and tailbone.
A Lord & Taylor store in Jenkintown closed in 1989, but was eventually replaced by the King of Prussia mall location in 1995.