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Image source: Times Ledger

The Real Deal reports that the Shops at Atlas Park, a mall in Glendale (GMAP), is in need of a makeover. The people operating the shopping mall are working hard to bring in new stores, and have succeeded to some extent – for instance, next year the trendy clothing shop Forever 21 is planning to set up shop in a 15,000-square-foot location at Atlas. The mall also wants to change their name, or so it is rumored. Macerich, the company that owns and runs Atlas Park (along with other regional malls across the US), is tight-lipped about this detail.

Queens Senator Joseph Addabbo said in an interview with the Times Ledger, “changing the name might be the right business move for Macerich because Atlas has been associated with a failing entity for so long.”

The Shops at Atlas Park opened in April 2006 in the former location of the Atlas Terminals industrial park, a 25 acre property that was home to large companies like Kraft and GE. The redevelopment of the mall was done because as an industrial park it was clamoring for tenants. It seems like this same situation is coming back to haunt the location, this time in the retail sphere.

Something to know about the location of the Atlas Park Mall is that it is not close to the subway; the closest subway station is a mile and a half away in Ridgewood. That is on the M line, which the MTA does not operate on the weekend except as a shuttle within Ridgewood, starting at the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues at the Bushwick border and ending at the Metropolitan Ave station, the end of the line. In order to get to Atlas Park, you have to drive or take the bus; Glendale is in one of the most suburban areas of central Queens.

For some time, local residents have wanted Atlas Park to bring in more retailers and are hopeful that Macerich, who bought the property at a foreclosure auction last year, can turn around the struggling shopping spot. In the words of to Senator Addabbo, “Macerich has a great track record and they are primed to do good things at Atlas Park.”

New stores, maybe a new name, for troubled Queens shopping mall [The Real Deal]
New owners bring big change to distressed Atlas Park mall [Times Ledger]


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