New entrances, businesses planned for Ocean County Mall

Some new life will soon be coming to the Ocean County Mall, and it may just be what the 40-year-old complex needs to survive.
The now-closed Sears was once one of the anchor stores at the mall.
The complex is an important part of the Hooper Avenue shopping quarter, and many other businesses rely on all traffic to survive.
The mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, just won a big decision for the planning board in Toms River Township.
The board unanimously approved an expansion of the mall.
The old Sears building will be knocked down, and new entrances, new landscaping and new businesses will fill the space vacated by the store.
The first restaurant to take its place is BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse.
Toms River officials are looking forward to the modernization of the Ocean County Mall.
"We are excited that they are reinvesting,” says Erika Stahl, Assistant Township Planner. “They saw that there still a market for retail in Toms River Township and Ocean County as a whole and that they are willing to modify their existing plans to accommodate new markets as well as bring entertainment and some other uses that would support the existing mall uses."
Once all permits are secured, construction is expected to take about 18 months.