Manalapan EpiCentre
A big-box retail and shopping center in Manalapan Township, New Jersey, serving the Marlboro and Freehold-area communities.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Manalapan EpiCentre is a retail shopping center in Manalapan Township, New Jersey, located at the intersection of U.S. Route 9 southbound and Symmes Drive. It opened in 2002 after the redevelopment of the former Manalapan Mall site. The property serves nearby communities including Manalapan, Marlboro, and Freehold, and is positioned as a large-format, automobile-oriented retail destination rather than as a traditional enclosed regional mall. The EpiCentre replaced the original Manalapan Mall, which opened in 1971. That earlier center was anchored by Steinbach and contained approximately 25 attached stores. Expansion proposals during the mall's history contemplated a much larger regional complex with additional department stores, but financial difficulties and changing retail conditions prevented those plans from being realized. By the 1990s, the mall faced increasing competition from the proposed and later successful Freehold Raceway Mall approximately five miles to the south. A proposed expansion also encountered neighborhood concerns about traffic. The older center was ultimately demolished in 1998, except for the Value City building, to make way for a substantially larger retail development. The replacement project was planned as a big-box-oriented Epi-Center with approximately 400,000 square feet of retail space, roughly four times the area of the original mall site. Its tenant mix has changed over time and has included national chains, restaurants, specialty retailers, and service businesses. The former department-store or large-format spaces have been repeatedly reconfigured as retailers entered, relocated, or exited the market. Examples include the conversion of the former Steinbach space to Value City, the later replacement of that retail presence by P. C. Richard & Son, and the subsequent arrival of Sports Authority and Bonefish Grill in portions of the same building. Sports Authority closed in 2016, and the space was later replaced by HomeSense in 2019. Other reported occupants and nearby retail uses associated with the EpiCentre complex have included Wegmans, Target, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Applebee's, Verizon, Pet Valu, Eyechic Optical Boutique, Gary's Jewelers, Hand & Stone, Cucina Alessi Italian Ristorante, and The Turning Point. A Normans Hallmark location was added in 2023, while the supplied reference material reports the addition of Nordstrom in 2025. Because the center's tenant roster changes frequently, individual occupancies should be treated as time-specific rather than permanent features of the brand. The EpiCentre's identity is therefore tied to the redevelopment of a former conventional mall into a dispersed, big-box retail destination. Its competitive environment includes other shopping centers and large-format retail corridors in central New Jersey. A separate proposal announced in 2005 contemplated an alternative facility of approximately 800,000 square feet with retailers, a multiplex cinema, and a hotel, but the available reference material does not establish that this proposal was completed. Ownership, management, financial performance, and current official web presence are not identified in the supplied sources.
History
Manalapan EpiCentre developed from the former Manalapan Mall, a shopping center that opened in 1971 at the corner of U.S. Route 9 southbound and Symmes Drive in Manalapan Township, New Jersey. The original mall was anchored by Steinbach and had approximately 25 stores attached to its south side. Plans for a later expansion envisioned a Macy's, a Sears, and as many as 100 stores, but financial problems prevented the project from proceeding. During the 1980s and 1990s, the property's competitive position weakened. Plans were submitted for Freehold Raceway Mall roughly five miles south on Route 9, creating the prospect of a larger regional destination nearby. A separate proposal to expand the aging Manalapan Mall encountered opposition from neighbors concerned about additional traffic. By the late 1990s, the original center was increasingly regarded as a declining or largely unsuccessful mall, while Freehold Raceway Mall was prospering. Steinbach was acquired in 1996, but the Manalapan location was not included in the purchase. The former anchor building became a Value City store. In 1998, most of the original Manalapan Mall was demolished, while the Value City building remained. The redevelopment created a much larger, dispersed retail project known as the Manalapan EpiCentre, with approximately 400,000 square feet of retail space. The new format emphasized large standalone or big-box stores rather than recreating the old enclosed mall. The surrounding and former mall parcels were subsequently occupied by a changing collection of major retailers. Reported uses included Wegmans, The Wiz, HomeGoods, Dick's Sporting Goods, Marshalls, Target, and a stand-alone HomeSense location. The Wiz closed in 2003 and was replaced by HomeGoods. Dick's Sporting Goods later moved to Freehold Raceway Mall, with Marshalls taking its former space. The former Value City building also experienced several tenant changes. Value City entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2008 and announced that its stores would close by early 2009. P. C. Richard & Son opened in the building on November 11, 2011. Sports Authority subsequently opened there on August 11, 2012, and Bonefish Grill opened on January 27, 2014. Sports Authority closed in June 2016, shortly before the chain ceased operations nationally. HomeSense later replaced the Sports Authority space, opening on February 28, 2019. The center's smaller tenants have included restaurants, communications retailers, pet-related retail, optical services, jewelry, wellness services, and other specialty businesses. The supplied reference material identifies Applebee's, Verizon, Pet Valu, Eyechic Optical Boutique, Gary's Jewelers, Hand & Stone, Cucina Alessi Italian Ristorante, and The Turning Point among the businesses associated with the complex. It also reports Normans Hallmark as an addition in 2023 and Nordstrom as an addition in 2025. Since shopping-center occupancy changes regularly, these listings describe reported tenant history rather than a guaranteed current directory. In 2005, plans were released for an alternative or expanded mall facility of approximately 800,000 square feet that would have combined retail stores, a multiplex theater, and a hotel. The available reference material does not establish that this proposal was completed. The EpiCentre's documented history is consequently one of transition from a small conventional mall to a large-format suburban retail complex whose identity depends on tenant turnover, redevelopment, and competition within the central New Jersey retail market.
- 2025
Nordstrom reported as an addition
[1]The supplied reference material reports the addition of Nordstrom, although further opening and operating details are not provided.
- 2023
Normans Hallmark added
[1]The supplied reference material identifies Normans Hallmark as a new addition to the complex.
- 2019
HomeSense opens
[1]HomeSense replaces the former Sports Authority space, opening on February 28.
- 2016
Sports Authority closes
[1]The Sports Authority store closes in June during the chain's national wind-down.
- 2014
Bonefish Grill opens
[1]Bonefish Grill opens at the complex on January 27.
- 2012
Sports Authority opens
[1]Sports Authority opens in the same large-format building on August 11.
- 2011
P. C. Richard & Son opens
[1]P. C. Richard & Son opens in the former Value City building on November 11.
- 2008
Value City announces store closures
[1]Value City files for bankruptcy and announces that its stores will close by early 2009.
- 2005
Alternative large-scale facility proposed
[1]Plans are released for an approximately 800,000-square-foot facility with retail stores, a multiplex theater, and a hotel; completion is not established in the available source.
- 2003
The Wiz closes and HomeGoods takes its space
[1]The Wiz location closes and is replaced by HomeGoods.
Products and positioning
An automobile-oriented suburban retail center focused on big-box stores, everyday shopping, specialty services, and casual dining for central New Jersey communities.
Retail property format · 2002
Big-box retail stores
The EpiCentre's defining offering is a dispersed suburban retail format built around large stores rather than a fully enclosed mall. Its tenant history has included grocery, apparel, home, sporting-goods, electronics, department-store, and specialty retail businesses. Store availability changes over time as tenants relocate, close, or are replaced.
Food service and personal services · 2002
Restaurants and services
Restaurants and service businesses complement the retail stores and broaden the center's role as a local convenience destination. Reported examples include Applebee's, Bonefish Grill, Cucina Alessi Italian Ristorante, The Turning Point, Hand & Stone, optical services, jewelry, and communications retail.
Home goods · 2002
Home and lifestyle retail
Home-oriented retail has been a recurring part of the complex's tenant mix. Reported occupants have included HomeGoods, HomeSense, Wegmans, Target, and other large-format operators, reflecting the center's emphasis on household and everyday consumer spending.
Brand decisions
2019
Replacement of a large-format retail tenantOtherBackground
Sports Authority closed its Manalapan location in 2016 during the chain's national collapse.
Action taken
HomeSense opened in the former Sports Authority space on February 28, 2019.
Aftermath
The change continued the center's pattern of adapting large retail spaces to new national tenants.
2005
Proposal for a larger alternative mall facilityStrategyBackground
A larger retail and entertainment development was considered after the EpiCentre's opening.
Action taken
Plans were released for an approximately 800,000-square-foot complex combining retailers, a multiplex theater, and a hotel.
Aftermath
The available source does not confirm that the proposed facility was built.
1998
Redevelopment from enclosed mall to big-box retail centerStrategyBackground
The original Manalapan Mall was deteriorating amid competition from the planned Freehold Raceway Mall and opposition to a conventional expansion.
Action taken
Most of the old mall was demolished and replaced with a larger, approximately 400,000-square-foot retail project while the Value City building was retained.
Aftermath
The resulting Manalapan EpiCentre adopted a dispersed, large-format retail model and continued to evolve through tenant changes.
Sources1 sources
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