The basics:

• Paramus shopping centers offer fitness classes, other programs to bring in visitors
• Malls aim to enhance community engagement and non-retail visits
• Programs attract traffic during Sunday blue law restrictions

A growing number of shopping centers in New Jersey are branching out to offer free programs aimed at keeping visitors active and healthy. As large, climate-controlled spaces, malls have long been known for attracting power walkers.

In fact, many allow early access for walkers to get their steps in before stores open for business. And some have designated walking groups that meet at specific times.

Many retail centers are now taking it a step further to present on-site fitness classes at no charge as another way to engage the public, draw foot traffic and enhance overall appeal. For example, the Mall of Georgia offers evening yoga sessions for all ages, while a weekly high-intensity workout program is held on the public plaza outside of Macy’s Herald Square in New York City.

Locally, the two biggest shopping centers in Paramus – one of busiest retail hubs in New Jersey – are also boosting their offerings.

After successfully hosting an indoor 5K race earlier this year, Westfield Garden State Plaza is following up with a weekly exercise program in a courtyard area near Macy’s. At Bergen Town Center, a yoga class is held Saturday mornings on one of the levels of its parking deck.

Will Lewis, Westfield Garden State Plaza’s director of marketing, described the 5K as “an incredible event.” For the officially timed race, over 300 participants completed seven laps around the mall’s second level and “had a great time,” he said.

“People are already coming here now to exercise in the air conditioning and keep cool. In the winter, people are trying to escape the snow and the ice. The timing when we did the 5K in February was right on the cusp of the outdoor running season, which is when a lot of people may be looking to do their first slightly longer distance run to get back into form after winter,” he said.

Lewis said, “I think we’re sort of formalizing an activity already happening. If you come to GSP on any given morning, we have dozens and dozens of mall walkers here exercising. We have some great Mommy & Me and mom-oriented fitness classes that are run by third-party operators who come and use public space here. There’s already people who think that this is a great space to come, exercise, keep fit and be active. What we’re doing is taking that one step further.”

Time to stretch

The popularity of the 5K prompted Westfield Garden State Plaza to develop other fitness programs.

For Get Movin’ Sundays, the shopping center partnered with TNT Training, a Paramus-based gym specializing in sports performance training and wellness programs, to develop a broad range of classes for all ages. Held Sundays from 11–11:45 a.m., the series includes high-energy cardio, HIIT, strength and chair fitness classes that are suitable for a range of ages and fitness levels.

Sessions include:

• Daddy & Son Strength & Conditioning Class
• Get Moving Chair Fitness for Seniors
• Endurance Athlete Run Club
• Family Fitness & Cardio
• Mommy & Me Strength & Conditioning Class

“Knowing that there’s a very diverse set of folks that live in Paramus, we wanted to make sure that we were able to offer something to everybody throughout the series,” Lewis said. “… We’re very lucky that we have a great gym like TNT in Paramus … They were very excited about the opportunity and what they were able to bring to the program.”

Since launching the classes in May, Lewis said the feedback has been positive. “People really like it for a couple of reasons. The first is that it’s free – people love free opportunities. The second is that it gives people a place during the summer where they can come and exercise in a nice cool comfortable environment and then stay afterwards to get a drink, have something to eat, etc.,” he explained. “They can make it more than just a fitness activity … They can make it into a broader visit.”

Trying something new

It also gives people an opportunity to make good on their promises to adopt a more active lifestyle. “They may not be sure how to do that. And may want to try different classes, but don’t want to make a particular commitment at this point,” he said. “What people really love about it is, because of the diverse range of classes we have, people can dip in and out of different activities and they’re really getting a chance to work out and discover what type of exercise activity makes sense for them.”

After Get Movin’ Sundays winds down Aug. 10, Lewis said they’ll look to introduce additional programs for the fall and winter.

“What we’re learning from this series is that we are getting a great sense of what type of exercise is resonating with people. So, we can start crafting our fall and winter programs to really appeal to what people are looking for. And although this program right now is only on Sundays, that’s not to say that in the fall in the winter we may not expand onto weekdays as well,” he said.

Additionally, Westfield Garden State Plaza will bring back its 5K race in February 2026.

“We’ll be making that bigger and better. I think we can push participation above 300 people and potentially utilize both levels at the center, which will be exciting,” Lewis said.

Going with the flow

Before the pandemic, Urban Edge Properties-owned Bergen Town Center periodically offered mom-friendly workouts and yoga sessions. After joining Urban Edge three years ago as a senior director of marketing, Jaya Daniel wanted to revive those types of programs at the outlet mall.

“I thought it would be a great way because my main goal for Bergen Town Center was to get more community engagement and to get the community happy and excited to come to Bergen Town Center, not just for the shopping, but for the activities that we can offer,” she said.

When a trial run of a yoga class generated a steady following over the past two years, Daniel said the mall recently brought it back for another round of sessions from March through August.

“It’s a full family event. We don’t have age restrictions,” Daniel said. “So, we’ve had a couple of parents come with their kids and they’re doing yoga together, and it’s just such a great encompassing experience.”

Presented in partnership with Bergen Performing Arts Center, the 60-minute practice is led by Kirsten Lane, a yoga teacher and faculty member with the Englewood nonprofit. In the event of bad weather, yoga is relocated from the fourth level of the parking garage to an interior area near Nordstrom Rack.

“We’re kind of playing around with the different areas to see what works for now. So, that’s why we always tell people to stay posted with us on social so we can update them and so we can find a really good spot,” she said.

The mall also recently began offering at least one free monthly event for kids, such as bubble shows and balloon shows, and is looking to add dance and martial arts programs into the mix, according to Daniel.  “We’re really leaning into community engagement … Bringing in activities that bring enjoyment and the community together can help not just us, but our shoppers, too,” Daniel said.

Bergen Town Center is also interested in developing some type of health and wellness programming in partnership with one of the many large hospital systems that call North Jersey home, according to Daniel.

Seeking health care partners

“We’d absolutely love to partner with one of the local hospitals. We haven’t quite gotten that far yet with anything,” she said. “We have partnered once with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, which is one of our tenants, and so they sponsored a couple of our yoga classes. And they’ve expressed interest and also partnering with us again on some stuff. But nothing is in the works currently, but we would absolutely love to partner with one of the local hospitals and create a program that works with us and with them and brings a strong attention to the and wellness that we wish to bring to our community.”

Bergen Town Center also hopes to dial up events related to sports and entertainment, Daniel said.

“A lot of times, when I’m working on a program for the following year, I look at what gets good traction, what I can change, what I can add or what I can focus more on,” she explained. “Besides being a way to get the public excited, it can help out businesses that are in our local area.”

“With the World Cup happening next year [at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford], I’m definitely looking to do something soccer-oriented … Maybe two events – something earlier in the year to kick off the season and something closer in the summer when the World Cup is really happening. I think that will be really exciting.”

“I would love – and this is not officially done yet so I can’t say it’s definitely happening – but to be able to partner with Medieval Times and have them do a show at our mall, something that’s different and interactive,” she said.

Feeling blue

Since retail is not allowed on Sundays under Bergen County‘s long-standing blue laws, local shopping centers say they’ve always sought ways to bring the public non-shopping-related activities that day.

Lewis said, “It’s long been our ambition to make sure that GSP is a great destination on Sundays. It’s not something we just started doing this year or even last year. It’s always been in our game plan to really increase our entertainment offering beyond what anyone else might be doing.”

“So, the addition of things like Planet Playskool, Pinstripes and Dopamine Land are exciting entertainment experiences that really appeal to the whole family, from 3 years old right through to older folks,” he said.

“I think people are now understanding they can come to GSP on a Sunday and it’s just a really great place to have a great entertainment experience, great family experience and great food & beverage experience. You can come here without the traffic on a Sunday – which is a plus for a lot of people – and it’s a very relaxing way to spend the day,” he said.

Though the world of retail has changed over the past five to 10 years, Lewis believes malls remain a “gathering place” for the public and present an opportunity for entertainment-focused venues. “What we’re always doing here is making sure that we’re evolving ahead of the times, that we’re cognizant of where things are trending in the future and how lifestyle choices are changing. And, making sure that we’re right ahead of the curve to meet people’s changing needs.”

“That’s going to continue with the development we’re about to break ground on – a mixed-use development that will add additional Sunday offerings, new public spaces, etc.,” Lewis said.

Reinvention

As part of a sweeping transformation effort, mall owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is working with Mill Creek Residential to convert surface parking into a modern, sustainable live-work-play town center.

The first phase received municipal approval in January 2024 and includes two five-story mixed-use buildings with 575 residential units; about 50,000 square feet of retail; and a 1‑acre town green designed for outdoor markets, dining and community gatherings.

According to a mall spokesperson, construction on this part of the project is scheduled to be completed by 2027.

As shopping centers introduce other elements besides retail, Daniel believes properties are generally “playing around with different things to see what works and what doesn’t.”

“I am from Rockland County, so my mall was always Palisades [Center] Mall … it was always a fun surprise when I walked in and there’d be a huge stage set up and they were doing a fashion show,” she recalled.

“Being in the Jersey market, I have a closer eye on Garden State Plaza and American Dream, and I think they do a great job with their programs as well and bringing the community together,” she said. “I also don’t want to copy what they’re doing because they’re doing it great and they have great engagement. So, we try and see what we can offer as a compliment to what they offer.”

‘A new version of Bergen Town Center’

Considered to be Urban Edge’s flagship retail destination, Bergen Town Center has a lineup that generates more than 11 million visits annually. Its 70-plus tenants include Whole Foods Market, CVS Pharmacy, Nordstrom Rack, Marshalls, Nike, Adidas, Bluestone Lane, Cava, Olive Garden, Kohl’s, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Target and Old Navy.

On the heels of the mall’s recent rebrand, Daniel believes the various free programming “helps people associate a new version of Bergen Town Center.”

“I try to do as much as I can free for our shoppers because we want them to think of us as just part of their day and not an add an expense or something that,” Daniel explained. “Our mindset is creating a safe space for our shoppers and all of these free events that they can come bring their families to.”

For now, Yoga For The Soul will be held Saturdays, but Daniel said, “We are starting to explore more of what we can do on Sunday. Sundays can be tricky because we really can’t do anything that sells anything. We can only do these health and wellness kind of programs.”

A boost for business

According to the ICSC, malls that have fitness centers or wellness offerings posted 12% higher visitation and 2.5% increased traffic than other retailers. As of 2023, 50% of malls have introduced some kind of fitness or health services into their tenant mix.

Along with enhancing public health, fitness-related tenants are becoming a way to boost commercial viability because it offers a way to provide property usage beyond the standard shopping hours, ICSC noted.

Daniel said, “I can only speak of through observation, and I will see families and people at our events – whether they come on purpose for it or they’re finding it by happenstance when they’re walking by – and I do see them with shopping bags in their hands. Or I can see them after some events walking into a store afterwards.”

Lewis said the 5K at Westfield Garden State Plaza in February “absolutely” gave a boost to the mall’s businesses.

“Obviously, we don’t open retail on a Sunday with the blue laws, so what we did was as part of the race entry, we gave people a swag pack with offers and incentives to come back and shop the center Monday to Saturday for the retail stores. For the food and beverage and entertainment offerings that we have open on Sunday, they immediately opened following the 5K and participants got incentives to go enjoy those experiences,” he said.  “I think we definitively drove additional sales and traffic from that event … It was such a unique event, so people really wanted to come here and run it.

“Traffic is really strong. Our traffic consistently trends up year over year … People really do still value that brick-and-mortar retail experience,” he said. “And then you have people coming here more often to say, ‘OK, I’m going to go to GSP on a Thursday and do my shopping,’ and then they’re going to go back there on a Sunday with my family and explore and enjoy the entertainment options. So, people are using the center in different ways multiple times a week. So, we’re giving people more reasons to come back more often.”

Lewis noted the many performing arts, cultural and seasonal events Westfield Garden State Plaza presents, such as its annual holiday season kickoff – lighting a 45-foot tall Big Santa.

“We really appeal to the whole community. So, it’s always about continuing to do those bigger and better and making sure that we’re really giving people what they want … With GSP, we’re now going onto our fourth possibly fifth generation of customer for the same family in some cases, which is incredible. So, that’s hugely valuable, and I think it’s just making sure that whatever we’re doing that we’re right at the heart of the community and people feel that,” he said.

Fighting back

The growing focus on activating local shopping centers for non-retail use on Sundays comes as American Dream is going against the blue laws by allowing stores to open that day. For at least the past year, retailers at the Meadowlands megamall have opened for business Sundays – alongside the 6-year-old complex’s array of dining, entertainment and other attractions.

In response, officials in Paramus have said they would consider legal action. Paramus has long supported the blue laws, saying the measure gives residents a break from traffic that plagues the borough during the rest of the week.

In New Jersey, blue laws have existed since the 1700s. However, following a 1959 change in state law, every county but Bergen abandoned the Sunday shopping ban on items like clothes, jewelry, furniture and appliances. Attempts to repeal Bergen County’s blue laws in 2010 and 1993 failed amid quality-of-life concerns.

Bergen County officials have also vowed to defend the blue laws. After hearing from constituents about American Dream’s Sunday operations, the county reached out last year to the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, the entity that owns the land housing American Dream, MetLife Stadium and other Meadowlands developments.

NJSEA’s attorney wrote back to the county saying that the authority doesn’t have the power to enforce blue laws because it’s not a police agency. After that, the county sought out the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office for further clarification on who has the authority to enforce compliance.

Officials from Paramus and the county did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of the situation.

The AG’s office said, “Our office has no comment. For the most part, the Attorney General’s Office is not authorized to provide general information to the press about New Jersey law or to interpret state statutes or regulations.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:15 p.m. EST July 14, 2025, to note that the International Council of Shopping Centers has rebranded to ICSC.