Retrofit Atlas

Malls · Pennsylvania

Exton Square Mall

From the authors' mapRedevelopedReinhabitedPartly retrofittedExton, PA

Opened 1973. Partial Redeveloped · Reinhabited in 2020.

Status nowPartly retrofittedauthors' map
documented
The mall permanently closed on June 30, 2026, with the exception of remaining anchors and medical offices on site.

en.wikipedia.org

What it becamehousing, retail, office, healthcare, entertainmentextracted, unreviewed reported
Site size75 acrespublic reporting reported
Last sale$34.2M · 2025-03public reporting
Retrofit year2020authors' map reported
Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD
Reach the owner Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Exton Square Mall
Exton Square Mall. Photo: Red0ctober22, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile26 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
Boscov'sThis site: Boscov's wikipedia · all sites with this
JCPenneyThis site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this
SearsThis site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this
Strawbridge'sThis site: Strawbridge's wikipedia · all sites with this
Finance and pipeline
Attention rising (Wikipedia views +50% y/y)This site: 22,254 views, +71% wikimedia · all sites with this
High attention (20k+ Wikipedia views a year)This site: 22,254 wikimedia · all sites with this
Sold since 2020This site: 2025 Abrams Realty & Development research-deals · all sites with this
Place
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 5/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent roadThis site: 36,597 on POTTSTOWN PK fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 11 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -10% census-cbp · all sites with this
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $2,242/mo zillow · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 6 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High-income tract ($100k+)This site: $125,221 census-acs · all sites with this
Low social vulnerability tract (SVI ≤ 0.25)This site: 0.15 cdc-svi · all sites with this
National Register place within 500 mThis site: Sleepy Hollow Hall; Zook House nps-nrhp · all sites with this
Scale
60+ acre siteThis site: 75 acres research-deals · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: Partial reinhabitation: healthcare, civic Partial redevelopment: residential arcgis-webmap · all sites with this
ReinhabitedThis site: Partial reinhabitation: healthcare, civic Partial redevelopment: residential arcgis-webmap · all sites with this
New use
Civic and governmentThis site: Partial reinhabitation: healthcare, civic Partial redevelopment: residential After the closure of M extraction · all sites with this
Entertainment and sportsThis site: …ments and townhomes along with shops, restaurants, fitness, entertainment, office space and health care. extraction · all sites with this
HousingThis site: reinhabitation: healthcare, civic Partial redevelopment: residential After the closure of Macy's, Abrams planned to demolish the extraction · all sites with this
Medical and healthThis site: Partial reinhabitation: healthcare, civic Partial redevelopment: residential After the closu extraction · all sites with this
Mixed useThis site: …t the end of 2025 and redevelop the property into the Exton Town Centre, featuring more than 600 apartments and townhomes along wit extraction · all sites with this
OfficeThis site: …omes along with shops, restaurants, fitness, entertainment, office space and health care. extraction · all sites with this
Retail (continued)This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

From the authors' map

PA, Chester County, Exton Square Mall, 2020
• Partial reinhabitation: healthcare, civic
• Partial redevelopment: residential

Now

StatusPartly retrofittedauthors' map
documented
The mall permanently closed on June 30, 2026, with the exception of remaining anchors and medical offices on site.

en.wikipedia.org

StrategyPartial Redeveloped · Reinhabitedauthors' map reported
New useshousing, retail, office, healthcare, entertainmentextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there nowPartial reinhabitation: healthcare, civic Partial redevelopment: residentialauthors' map reported
Retrofit year2020authors' map reported
RedeveloperAbrams Realty & Developmentextracted, unreviewed reported

Planning

Planning notesAfter the closure of Macy's, Abrams planned to demolish the mall at the end of 2025 and redevelop the property into the Exton Town Centre, featuring more than 600 apartments and townhomes along with shops, restaurants, fitness, entertainment, office space and health care.extracted, unreviewed reported

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
2025-03Sold$34.2M closedAbrams Realty & Development ← PREITjll.com 2025-03-21
2025Sold$34.2M closedAbrams Realty & Development ← PREITWikipedia
2003Sold$548.0M closedPennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) ← The Rouse CompanyWikipedia

Securitised debt and public filers

Filings (2001 to date) that name “Exton Square Mall” and “Exton” (227 hits, first 100 sampled, 1 other filers such as tenants left out). Common name: these matches are unreliable. No commercial-mortgage trust names this mall in the sample, which does not rule out a securitised loan. Text matches, not a title search. Open the search · all trusts.

KindFilerFilingsDatesForms
Public owner (strong)PENNSYLVANIA REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST992003-03-31 to 2023-12-118-K 79, 10-Q 12, 8-K/A 5, 10-K 2

As reported by the owner

Property tables from the owner's annual report (Form 10-K, Item 2) on EDGAR, one row per filing year. GLA, occupancy and anchors are the filer's own figures at that year end; “leased” counts signed leases, “occupied” counts open stores; ownership is the filer's share. Matched by name and place, unreviewed; the verbatim table row is in sec_facts.csv.

Year endFilerName in filingGLA sq ftOccupancyYearsShareSales psfAnchors listed
2022Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust 10-K, 2023-03-27Exton Square Mall Exton, PA
match: exact		990,145
in-line 808,945		53.2% occupiedbuilt 1973 / renovated 2000100.0%Boscov’s, Macy’s
2016Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust 10-K, 2017-02-28Exton Square Mall Exton, PA
match: exact		991,478
in-line 810,278		86.3% occupiedbuilt 1973 / renovated 2000100.0%Boscov’s, Macy’s and Sears
2009Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust 10-K, 2010-03-16Exton Square Mall Exton, PA
match: exact		1,086,862
in-line 809,394		90.7% occupiedbuilt 1973 / renovated 2000100.0%Boscov’s JCPenney K-Mart Macy’s Sears

Site context

FEMA flood zoneno NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m4: EXTON SQUARE MALL PARKING LOT EXPANSION; MACYS EXTON NO 151; MILLER, H L & SON INC; TOWNE CENTER CLNR/W WHITELANDEPA FRS
Census tract 420293022052,691 people, 704 per sq mi; median household income $125,221; median gross rent $2,135; 47% renters; 14.8% vacant units; 1.4% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)5 of 6 daily needs: 6 grocers, 0 schools, 14 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 3 civic, 20 food and drink; 11 cycleway segments, 49 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
National Register places within 500 m5: Sleepy Hollow Hall; Zook House; Zook House (Boundary Increase); Zook, Jacob, HouseNPS
Housing permits, Chester County (PA), 2024315 units in 5+ unit buildings, 27 in 2–4, 1,187 single-family; 2023: 161 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.15; socioeconomic 0.07; housing and transport 0.57; 6% below 150% of poverty; 2% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby0 within 10 km, 6 within 25 kmcomputed
Overture Mapsplace Exton (Exton Square Mall) (bowling_alley, confidence 0.97, from AllThePlaces, Overture, Overture-signals); building footprint 41,912 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views135,841 since 2015; 22,254 in the last 12 months (+71% vs the prior 12); peak 2026-06 with 5,084Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023tract boundary changed between the 2010 and 2020 census; no 2013 comparisonCensus ACS
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)relatively low overall (score 36.2); expected annual loss $1.6M; high: winter weather; community resilience relatively highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)23,784 jobs in 1,319 establishments; average annual pay $46,815; employment location quotient 0.95; employment -0.5% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 20226,241 jobs; 1,056 in retail trade, 411 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 42029302205)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 52th income percentile as adults; 0.1% incarcerated at the 2010 count (147 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 4% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 5.0%; median family income $120,459; 52 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsWest Chester Area School District (KG-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: Exton El SchNCES EDGE
Elevation325 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025685 county-logged events: 477 thunderstorm wind, 149 flash flood, 24 hail, 15 flood; $41,429,010 property damage reported; 2 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 19341, 2026-09median list price $590,000 (-2.4% on the year); 21 active listings; median 35 days on market; 9% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,353 establishments (-10%); 27,318 jobs (-1%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $579,006 (+3% 1 yr, +32% 5 yr); typical rent $2,242/mo (+4% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025365 (2000 = 100); +15.8% 1 yr, +62% 5 yr, +91% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)36,597 vehicles a day on POTTSTOWN PK (principal arterial); 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Similar sites

  • Granite Run Mall, Middletown, PA · Malls · opened 1974; same strategy: redevelop; also in PA
  • The Village at Orange, Orange, CA · Malls · similar size (63 acres); opened 1971; same strategy: redevelop
  • Northtown Mall, Blaine, MN · Malls · similar size (83 acres); opened 1972; same strategy: redevelop, reinhabit
  • Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, VA · Malls · similar size (53 acres); opened 1975; same strategy: reinhabit

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • closed or demolished site (sourced)
  • already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
  • 75 acres
  • county grew 4.6% 2018–23
  • median rent $1,691
  • housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened1973extracted, unreviewed
Acres75.0public reporting reported
Stores at peak150extracted, unreviewed reported
Original developerThe Rouse Companyextracted, unreviewed
documented
The mall was originally developed by the Rouse Company and opened in March 1973.

en.wikipedia.org

ArchitectKatzman Associates and Aaron Garfinkel & Associates
AnchorsJCPenney, Sears, Boscov's, Strawbridge's
CountyChester County
Census division2 · Mid-Atlantic

Not yet recorded: GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

The Exton Square Mall is a defunct mall located in the community of Exton in West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, roughly 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The mall was originally developed by the Rouse Company and opened in March 1973. The building was shaped as a square, with Strawbridge's, the original anchor, located in the center.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1973 Grand opening
  2. 1997 Groundbreaking for expansion
  3. 2000 Construction completed and grand reopening
  4. 2003 Sale to PREIT
  5. 2014 Main Line Health opens healthcare facility
  6. 2016 Round1 Bowling & Arcade opens
  7. 2019 Sears anchor store closes
  8. 2020 Retrofit: redevelop, reinhabit
  9. 2025 PREIT sells to Abrams Realty & Development
  10. 2025 West Whiteland Township board pushes for redevelopment approval then rejects

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Exton Square Mall · supports: original developer, status, year closed, year opened
    14 quoted sentences
    opened its doors on March 15, 1973
    The mall permanently closed on June 30, 2026, with the exception of remaining anchors and medical offices on site.
    The mall was originally developed by the Rouse Company and opened in March 1973.
    The mall permanently closed on June 30, 2026, with the exception of remaining anchors and medical offices on site.
  • Retrofitting Suburbia Interactive Mall Map (ArcGIS web map ce33ab26…) · 2021-01-20

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