Investing In The Queens Shopper $200 Million Expansion Planned: Queens Center Mall: One Of The Tops In The Nation

That windowless behemoth that dominates the busy intersection where Queens Blvd., Woodhaven Blvd. and the Long Island Expwy. merge may not be one of the most beautiful buildings in Queens, but it is certainly one of the boroughs busiest.
The Queens Center Mall, now 27 years old, has the distinction of being one of the best performing malls in the entire nation. Sales in the bustling mall (last year at about $760 per square foot) are more than twice the national average. According to the malls owners, it even out-performed luxury-oriented centers such as Tysons Galleria in suburban Washington which sold about $680 per square foot last year. And that mall contains stores such as Versace and Max Mara.
At its location at 90-15 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst, Queens Center is not only accessible by the aforementioned major roadways, but also by a subway line that is located right at the malls entrance. As the only large scale enclosed mall in the borough of two million residents, its huge success will soon bring on a major expansion. The owners of Queens Center the Macerich Company are going to invest about $200 million to double the malls retail sales area by building an annex on top of a municipal parking lot across the street. The expanded mall will include real trees, skylights and sit-down restaurants.
The present original Queens Center Mall did not include these features but nevertheless has succeeded because its multi-levels offer a wide variety of stores and services that attract shoppers of all ages. The Malls two anchor stores, Macys and J.C. Penney are top performers among the national chains. Other stores in the mall tell a similar story. The ground floor Baskin-Robbins has the second highest sales of its 250 stores in the New York region. The top floor Childrens Place is the top performing store of the national chains 293 outlets.
Its food court offers a wide variety of foods that reflect the international flavor of the borough. A list at the customer service desk has catalogued at least 21 languages spoken at the Mall. The service desk offers translation services. According to Mall manager Lorraine ONeill, Queens Center prides itself on its community involvement and its good working relationship with Community Board 4, neighboring schools and local civic and cultural groups. Regular programs are held in the Malls central atrium such as a recent Flag Day ceremony in which local residents were sworn in as new citizens by the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. Marketing Director Dawn Simon said that to find out about the many activities at the Queens Center and in the community you can visit their new website at www.shopqueenscenter.com