The Mall at Short Hills

Address: 1200 Morris Tpke, Short Hills, NJ, 07078

Hours:

10:00 - 21:00 ( Mon - Fri )  10:00 - 19:00 ( Sat )  11:00 - 18:00 ( Sun )  

The Mall at Short Hills, usually referred to as the Short Hills Mall, is a high-end mall in the Short Hills area of Millburn, New Jersey, United States. The mall developer is The Taubman Company. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,342,000 ft² (120,780 m²), placing it in the top ten among the largest shopping malls in New Jersey.

The Mall at Short Hills began as a series of bundled strip malls in an outdoor plaza area in the 1950s. A freestanding B. Altman and Company store in 1957 was the first on the site. The original open mall was constructed in 1961, together with a 72,000 square feet (6,480 m²) Bonwit Teller. A 243,000-square foot (21,870 m²) Bloomingdale's was added in 1967. In addition, smaller "boutiques" such as, Young World, Delicacies Shop, Au Gourmet, a men's store, and a restaurant opened in the mall.

Even in the late 1960s in a period when the "shopping mall" usually meant inexpensive items, and upscale merchandisers were found in major city downtowns, the Short Hills Mall distinguished itself from the pack by offering top-end products at branches of upscale stores.

After a fire that destroyed sections of the strip mall in the mid-1970s, The Taubman Company determined that North Jersey residents needed high-end luxury stores. With the aging Livingston Mall that specializes in more "affordable stores" approximately five miles away, as well as the construction of Route 24, the Taubman Company developed the tract of land that is now home to the Mall at Short Hills. In 1974, Prudential Insurance Company of America began working with The Taubman Company in construction of a 431,000-square foot (38,790 m²) multi-level mall. By 1980, the two had completed a two-year, $100 million project to enclose the mall, which at that time included 1,160,000 of gross leasable space and three anchor stores. New retailers included Godiva Chocolatier, Black Star and Frost, The Limited and Gap.

In 1981, The Mall at Short Hills grew again as a new Abraham & Straus store joined the center and a new five-level parking deck was added. In 1993 the first phase of major expansion began and was completed in November 1994. The expansion added a 100,000-square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue, a totally renovated Bloomingdale's; added a new five-level parking deck adjacent to Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue; and turned the Abraham & Straus into a Macy's; and added a third floor to Macy's.

The next expansion phase was completed in August 1995 and added two anchors -- a 129,000 square-foot Neiman Marcus and a 172,000 square-foot Nordstrom -- and many new specialty stores including Tiffany & Co., Crate & Barrel, DKNY, Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. 35 specialty stores, occupying 100,000 square feet(9,000 m²) were added, 2 new parking decks; 1; 4 levels; which is across the service road from Neiman Marcus; and the other; a 5 level deck across the service road from Nordstrom; bringing the total area to 1.2 million square feet (108,000 m²), an expansion of 20%.

In 2006, The Mall at Short Hills became home to the world's first American Express Members Lounge offering complimentary drinks (including automated barista service), snacks, Apple-based computers, primarily aimed at Internet use and holiday gift wrapping for all visitors (plus guest) who could present a valid American Express card. The lounge, however, is temporary, and closes at the end of each holiday season.

The Mall at Short Hills was home to the first Opie and Anthony "Homeless Shopping Spree" on December 16, 1999 during which the two New York City talk radio hosts unleashed a small bus-load of homeless men and women into the mall. Listeners were encouraged to give money to the participants in order to lure the men and women into the more upscale stores.

Opie and Anthony hosted their 4th Homeless Shopping Spree at the Mall at Short Hills on December 16, 2006, from 2pm-6pm.

Bloomingdale's (243,000 square feet; 22,140 m²; 4 Floors)

Macy's (279,000 square feet; 25,110 m²; 3 Floors)

Neiman Marcus (129,000 square feet; 12,330 m²; 3 Floors)

Nordstrom (172,000 square feet; 16,920 m²; 3 Floors; store under major renovation)

Saks Fifth Avenue (100,000 square feet; 9,000 m²; 3 Floors)