Sharon Rollins and Leroy Crews stand outside the new Valley Plaza Mall on the site of the old Valley Fair shopping center on Chancellor Avenue on Friday, Feb. 24, after a day of shopping.
IRVINGTON, NJ — At his fourth annual State of the Township Address at Christian Pentecostal Church on Clinton Avenue, Mayor Tony Vauss said he was glad the new Valley Plaza Mall on Chancellor Avenue is now officially open.
“Yeah, they’ve been open for a few months already,” said Vauss on Thursday, Feb. 23.
The new mall is located at the site of the old Valley Fair shopping center and plaza. Vauss said the Valley Plaza Mall’s opening is a continuation of the economic development and redevelopment plans that have come to fruition during his first term in office.
The mayor also pointed to the recent completion of the new Hilltop Project, also known as 280 Park Place; the 2015 grand opening of the new Super Fresh supermarket on the site of the old Pathmark supermarket on Lyons Avenue; the new Taco Bell restaurant on the old Servicemen’s Clubhouse site on Springfield Avenue, and other developments as proof that Irvington is a prime location for businesses.
“The Taco Bell is already open, too,” Vauss said. “They just haven’t had a ribbon-cutting ceremony or a grand opening event, but they have been open for business, serving customers for a while now. With the Valley Plaza Mall on Chancellor Avenue and Super Fresh on Lyons Avenue, we now have the retail anchors for that part of town in the East Ward, that shares the border with Newark, that we can use to attract even more business and customers, to help continue the economic revitalization of that area specifically and the entire township in general.”
Sharon Rollins and Leroy Crews, two longtime township residents with fond memories of patronizing the old Valley Fair store, praised the new Valley Plaza Mall.
“We’re old. We can remember shopping at Valley Fair,” said Rollins on Friday, Feb. 24. “The new place is open and it’s a good thing. It’s a nice place to come to. It always was a nice place in the area to come to and shop. So, for me, it will do. I think it’s very nice.”
Crews echoed Rollins sentiments, saying he was glad the landmark Irvington shopping center has reopened.
“It is very nice,” said Crews on Friday, Feb. 24. “I used to come here, back in the day. They’ve got a lot more work to do to, but it is very nice. The mayor was right that it is very important for the mall to be open, even it it’s not filled with stores yet.”
Rollins agreed that the future is now for Irvington and the new Valley Plaza Shopping Mall, and added that she would like to see another particular feature in the new township mall: “Food courts. That’s what they need.”
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