KOP Mall expansion project complete

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal, Natalie Kostelni

When officials from Simon Property Group approached Rob Loeper a few years ago about connecting both ends of the King of Prussia Mall, Upper Merion’s chief planner minced few words when he saw the plans.

“Wow! It’s about time,” he recalled at the grand opening of the newly connected mall.

For those who have been eagerly awaiting the completion of the 1 55,000-square-foot connector to the mall, today is your day.

State, township and Simon Property (NYSE: SPG) officials gathered Thursday morning to open the expansion and celebrate the King of Prussia property’s new status as the biggest mall in America on a square foot basis. It is 2.9 million square feet.

Some other statistics:

• The project took a year to plan and two years to construct;
• 450 retailers and 19 restaurants lease space in the mall. An area called “Savor King of Prussia” is essentially a high-end food court with seven fast-casual restaurants including Shake Shack and Hai Street Kitchen;
• The property generates more than $1 billion in annual sales;
• 4,800 employees work from the mall;
• There’s valet parking and you can get your car washed while you shop; and
• 20 million people visit the retail center each year.

To put that number of people into context, Rick Sokolov, president and COO of Simon, said that you would have to take those attending Eagles, Flyers, 76ers and Phillies games each year and times it by five. With that said, a ceremonial red ribbon was tied to symbolize the connection of the mall and what Sokolov boasted as giving consumers a seamless shopping experience.