Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Mill Creek Residential Break Ground on Community-Driven Vision at Westfield Garden State Plaza
Landmark mixed-use densification’s first phase will create vibrant, walkable town center for Paramus along with residential apartments, street-level shops and restaurants, parks and greenspaces.
“With shovels in the ground, we are beginning an exciting journey to create a new town center for Paramus at Westfield Garden State Plaza – a vibrant, one‑of‑a‑kind sustainability-oriented mixed-use destination for the community to live, work, shop and play,” said Stephen Fluhr, Senior Vice President of Development for URW. “Since its origins as a retail pioneer in the 1950s, Westfield Garden State Plaza has continually evolved alongside the Paramus community. This next chapter builds on that legacy, blending the spirit of the center with a community‑driven vision for the future.”
The Westfield Garden State Plaza transformation incorporates meaningful community features designed to enhance Paramus by creating a true downtown destination. At the heart of the 13‑acre Phase 1 development is a central town green that will serve as a vibrant community hub, offering residents a walkable town center. Upon completion, Phase 1 will also include a main street-style outdoor district featuring restaurants, everyday conveniences, and essential services that reduce reliance on automobiles while fostering a more connected, livable community.
The development is designed to reduce its carbon footprint, promote sustainable practices, and minimize waste by incorporating renewable energy, natural materials, and increasing access to public transportation, retail, and entertainment. In the first phase, the project offers electric vehicle charging stations. In a future phase, the project also includes significant upgrades to public transportation networks.
To honor Westfield Garden State Plaza’s rich history, street names for the mixed‑use development were unveiled during the groundbreaking ceremony. These names connect defining moments in the center’s legacy with its future.
Marquee Lane – Pays tribute to the drive-in movie theater that was once a part of the Westfield Garden State Plaza site and celebrates the enduring spirit of entertainment, nostalgia, and shared experience.
Bambergers Lane - Bamberger’s Department Store is considered the cornerstone of Westfield Garden State Plaza’s early success, bringing metropolitan sophistication and retail innovation to the heart of Paramus. Bambergers Lane celebrates the pioneering retail spirit that helped shape Westfield Garden State Plaza into a destination, and now into a community.
Sprout Green – The heart of the new development, the vibrant town green, is named in tribute to Sprout Brook, the stream that has shaped this landscape for generations. Sprout Green honors the site's ecological heritage while embracing its future as a gathering place for residents, visitors, and the larger Paramus community.
Sprout Crescent – The word “Crescent” was chosen for the graceful loop that wraps around Sprout Green to evoke a sense of continuity. Sprout Crescent will connect the residences, retail, and gathering spaces in the new development.
Plaza Passage - Plaza Passage is a symbolic corridor that will connect the iconic Westfield Garden State Plaza with its next chapter as a vibrant, walkable neighborhood.
Initial work consists mostly of ground and site preparation followed by construction of Modera at Garden State Plaza - two mixed-use, five-story midrise buildings containing a combined 575 residential units and approximately 50,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.
“Westfield Garden State Plaza has long been one of the most iconic destinations in the Northeast, and we're incredibly proud to help shape its next chapter. This community represents everything Mill Creek does best, bringing thoughtfully designed homes to a location where residents can live, dine, shop, and connect,” said Doug Arsham, Executive Managing Director of Development in the East for Mill Creek Residential. “We're committed to delivering an all-encompassing living experience that becomes the heart of the Paramus community for generations to come.”
The community will be connected to Westfield Garden State Plaza via a pedestrian walkway on the west face of the shopping center. The Center will also activate the town green with family-friendly activities such as seasonal events, concerts and festivals. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is exploring a hotel, medical offices and senior living in future phases.
The Garden State Plaza transformation is part of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s strategy to create vibrant retail-anchored destinations in the world’s best cities and urban areas.
For more information, visit https://www.westfield.com/en/united-states/gardenstateplaza/transformation.
About Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) operates vibrant retail-anchored destinations in many of the world’s best cities and urban areas. This powerful network attracts over 900 million customer visits annually, supports the growth of major retailers, and makes a significant social and economic contribution to local communities.
This network includes 66 owned shopping centres in the US and Europe that represent around 88% of the Group’s €49 Bn asset portfolio – with 41 centres operating under the iconic Westfield brand. URW also has partners who operate Westfield-branded destinations in fast-growing new markets.
Through its ‘A Platform for Growth’ business plan, URW is generating organic growth, leveraging the power of the Westfield brand, and unlocking capital light growth opportunities to generate compelling shareholder returns. This is supported by the Group’s ‘Better Places’ sustainability roadmap, which has established URW as a leader in the real estate industry and one of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world.
URW’s stapled shares are listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: URW). The Group is rated BBB+ by Standard & Poor’s and Baa2 by Moody’s.
For more information, please visit www.urw.com.
About Mill Creek Residential
Mill Creek Residential is a national investment and rental housing company focused on developing, acquiring, constructing, and operating multifamily and built-to-rent single-family rental communities in targeted markets nationwide. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company operates across the United States through a seasoned team of professionals, with a presence in many of the nation’s most desirable markets, including Seattle, Portland, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Southern California, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Houston, South Florida, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, New York, and Boston. As of December 31, 2025, the company’s portfolio is comprised of 150 communities representing more than 42,600 rental homes operating or under construction. For more information, please visit www.MillCreekPlaces.com.
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