Marlton Center was a Planned Unit Development (PUD) that was approved in Marlton in the early 70s. A combination of single family homes, condos, and apartments was to be combined with a large shopping mall. The entire PUD was to be a 290 acre mix of residential, shopping, offices and recreation.
The highlight of the development was the Marlton Center Mall, an enclosed shopping arcade with the flavor of a European Shopping thoroughfare. Originally planned in 1972 as a 500,000 square foot shopping mall, including a central “Fountain Court”, modeled after a European town square. The center would link two department stores with a row of shops. Abundant natural light with overhead skylights would provide a festive atmosphere. Penn Fruit Market (a supermarket chain at the time) was announced as one of the original anchors, along with a Gaudio’s Garden Center as a free-standing store adjances to the mall.
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| Photo Courtesy of John Flack |
Construction was originally set to begin in October of 1972, but delays with plans and obtaining licenses pushed the construction off. By early 1973, plans had expanded to a 600,000 square foot mall with an adjacent 400,000 square feet of office space, giving the mall a total of over 1 million square feet. At the time Moorestown Mall was 1 million square feet, with Cherry Hill Mall about 950,000 square feet and Echelon 750,000 square feet. Plans were expected to be submitted in February 1973 including the Penn Fruit Supermarket, Gaudio’s, a drive in bank, a restaurant, a school and more than 120 satellite stores. Adjacent would be a 200 room motel complex, a free standing restaurant and a movie theater. Future phases would add another department store and 60 additional stores.
By January 1974, a shortage of building material, particularly steel, slowed plans yet again. Construction was expected to begin by Summer 1974. Yet by November 1974, the developer was in front of the Evesham Township Planning Board asking for an extension. Poor economic conditions had delayed commencement of the project. Grant Department Stores and Woolco had both expressed interest in the project, but both backed out due to the recession. Penn Fruit was still interested, but required another large retail anchor before committing. An 18 month extension was granted by the Planning Board.
The entire Marlton Center PUD was scrapped by the end of 1974 - the Mall was never built. Only Marlton Village and part of Marlton Meeting had been built.
The rest of the land remained vacant until Linpro developed Marlton Crossing in the mid 1980s. When they acquired the entire property in 1985, they too had plans for residential homes, offices, a shopping center and a theater. All but the theater were eventually built.
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