The first movie I EVER remember seeing was Snow White, at the Echelon Mall theater, with pizza at Scotto beforehand. I saw The Muppet Movie there, too, and Pinocchio, and…oh, so many. And Star Trek IV as a young teenager.

I know they weren’t keeping it open for nostalgic adults, and it’s no slam on the Ritz, but I still miss that theater.

PREIT did originally want Wal-Mart, and Wal-Mart would pay for its construction and land, but the community opposed it. The mall would pretty much still be dead though.

Nonetheless the market works in some way. Voorhees, a more upscale town, gets upscale apartments, while Somerdale gets the discounter. And the Echelon area being so close to PATCO makes some sense being residential. And route 73 becomes the retail dominated area.

About Macy’s and Boscovs; they are both in Deptford and Moorestown, and they’d likely stick in Deptford as its a more valuable location, then Moorestown and then last Echelon. Macy’s is also in Cherry Hill and Burlington Ctr, so has coverage in every SJ mall except for Cumberland Mall in Vineland.

On some level the dept. stores maybe ok, given that the mall might itself can fail but the dept. chains can sweep up the retail business. (i.e. if you need to buy jeans, you don’t meander in the mall anymore, just drive and park by Macy’s, buy it and leave).

The Macy’s department store was a ghost town, and their third floor was completely empty (supposedly the HR and manager’s offices but Macy’s has taken over the S&C space for eighteen months and they haven’t used all of the space yet). The only small stores that seem to attract any decent business would be the Borders Express, Yankee Candle Co., and Hallmark.

PREIT should get down on their knees and thank God that Boscov’s corporate offices are doing a favor and letting the Echelon Boscov’s department store stay open – they’re the only store in this mall that seems to be paying the bills and worth visiting and spending money; however if Boscov’s so much as COUGHS then Echelon Mall is DONE. Over with.

I can understand everyone’s sentiments about the mall – heck, I’m a new South Jersey resident who’s main visits to a mall are the wretched Gallery at Market East (and it truly needs to die, but won’t as there’s way too much foot traffic to and from SEPTA’s Market East Station, the Broad-Ridge Spur, El stops at 8th and 11th, and the PATCO) with a few visits to Franklin Mills and one journey to King of Prussia. However, Echelon Mall/VTC just isn’t the place that it used to be because it failed miserably in adjusting to changing times. they updated the WRONG SIDE OF THE MALL in my opinion – from Somerdale Road they’re no visible change at all.

Tenants are leaving left and right. The restaurant that replaced the theatre is NOT catering to the number of customers needed to keep it running. There are NO music stores, arcades or decent toy/hobby stores to draw the younger crowds in. It’s now reduced to a mere shell of it’s former self.

It’s very interesting that PREIT is more focused on building apartments and condos that no one can afford rather than attracting new stores to replace the old.

However, the retail in VTC sucks, and is pretty much Macy’s, Boscov’s and a foodcourt and some random few stores remaining.

I ride the NJ Transit bus 403 every day and back when CVS, a dollar store and McDonald’s were all placed within 500 feet of each other it was a great convenience to a poor late-teen in need of picking up supplies, going to GameStop (groan) and then eating a burger before jumping on the bus for the fifty-minute ride. The first sign of things going wrong was that the Disney Store became a mere shadow, Kay Bee Toy & Hobby was desperate for customers, the Dollar Store had closed it’s doors, and to my horror – no more CVS! Where was I supposed to pick up the latest PC World or Electronic Gaming Monthly along with my toothpaste or pine sol? With no CVS I couldn’t pick up my school supplies for my classes at nearby Camden County College. There was little incentive to shop at the mall anymore for what I needed.

Fast forward to Summer 2009. I have a well-paying job, am still single, and have some extra money to spend. Where’s the best place to spend my time? For electronics it’s East Gate Plaza’s Best Buy. For video games it’s a small mom-and-pop store in Turnersville (as the GameStop in VTC is staffed with rude, obnoxious people who are too friendly with race-profiling security guards). I don’t even want to go there for books as the Borders Express is too small, and the food court (while more varied than Cherry Hill’s) is too “open”, with no privacy while eating. Thanks to the Apple Store, a larger Radio Shack and Borders, I have no problem traveling to Westmont and then jump on a route 450 to Cherry Hill every month. The shopping there is more varied, attractive, and well…there’s actual LIFE.

*Just last month I visited Boscov’s for new clothes for the office and when I stepped on the escalator to head down to the food court. The security officer riding the escalator in front of me kept looking over her shoulder at a African-American wearing a shirt and tie, wearing glasses and holding a large Boscov’s bag and his iPod. After the fourth time I was so angry I retorted “Yes, I actually BOUGHT something”, wherein she finally stopped and walked away.

I think I’m beginning to see where VTC is headed. I can certainly understand the pressures that the owners are under to produce revenue and for the adjacent neighbors in Echelon Glen, the Lakeside Retirement Community, The Village At Voorhees and Voorhees Township wanting to keep the riff-raff out and the property values up, but I draw the line at lack of variety, racism and downright coldness of the atmosphere. Add to the fact that I’m looking for my first bachelor pad – VTC’s new condos are starting at $1,345.00 per month. Yeah…

Why should I give my money to place that has deteriorated to a point where the only place that I want to go is Chic-fil-A?