In less than two weeks, the township will host a series of discussions - the 2025 Livingston Mall Community Visioning Project - to hear from the community on what they believe should be done with the Livingston Mall property as it enters its latest phase.
The information sessions will also inform residents about the cost ofpotential projects on the property, such as commercial, retail, residential, and experiential offerings. The town has no plans to purchase the mall from its current five owners, but whoever does buy it down the line, the plan is for the town to be able to present to them what residents would like to see done with the space. Whatever is done will likely include residential units. 376 will be built at minimum, per an agreement with Fair Share Housing. The Council will also have the discretion to permit more units on the mall’s acreage should they choose; doing so could incentivize a potential buyer to agree with the town’s other requests, which could include parks, restaurants, and experiential facilities.
“I’m inviting all Livingston residents to come out and participate in any or all of these sessions,” Mayor Ed Meinhardt said. “The mall does not belong to the mayor or the Town Council, it belongs to the residents of Livingston, and this is where they can weigh in on what they want to see happen there. This is the chance to talk about it.”
Meinhardt noted that a similar series of community discussions have worked for Morristown and South Orange. Both of those municipalities took residential input into account when redeveloping their downtowns. He is hoping for the same result with the Community Visioning Project.
“If we can work ahead, we can show these potential owners what it is that the town is looking for (at the mall),” Meinhardt said. “We can share the vision of what the town would like to see at the mall, and this is the time for residents to give their input on that.”
Opened in 1972, the Livingston Mall has long been a staple of the community. However, the mall has faced a variety of challenges as e-commerce, consumer preferences, and the pandemic impacted its viability. Faced with shuttered anchor stores, declining patronage, and growing maintenance issues, the township deemed the mall as an “Area in Need of Redevelopment” in October of 2024.
As the chapter on the first 50 years of the Livingston Mall closes, the township now hopes to create a community-led vision of what the Livingston Mall property will look like for the next 50 years. Appreciating the unique opportunity and challenges that come with redeveloping 58 acres of prominent property, the officials are inviting the Livingston community to make its voice heard as part of a series of community meetings. Through this process, officials hope to hear from as many voices in the community as possible to gain an assessment of local issues and desires, ultimately rooting the future of the property in a common community vision. This approach creates quality places that contribute to the community’s health, happiness, and well-being.
There are two ways for the community to engage. Residents can take the ten-minute online survey at surveylegend.com/s/5wqq. They can also attend one of five days of community meetings. The meetings will be held on Monday, March 17; Tuesday, March 18; Wednesday, March 19; Thursday, March 20; and Saturday, March 22. There will be a kick-off presentation and hands-on visioning workshop on Monday, March 17, at the Livingston Senior/Community Center. This will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Tahaney Rooms. On Tuesday, March 18, the Town Hall training room will host an open design studio from 1 to 3 p.m., and a framework pin-up session from 6 to 7 p.m. On Wednesday, March 19, there will be an open design studio at Town Hall from 10 a.m. to noon and another session from 1 to 3 p.m., with concept pin-up scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Town Hall will host an open design studio on Thursday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to noon, and a second session from 1 to 4 p.m. On Saturday, March 22, there will be a Work-in-Progress presentation at Town Hall, with a time still to be determined. This presentation will also be available to view online. Through this process, the township hopes to hear from as many voices in the community as possible to gain an assessment of local issues and desires, ultimately rooting the future of the property in a common community vision. This approach creates quality places that contribute to our community’s health, happiness, and well-being. For more information, go to livingstonnj.org/MallMeetings.
