A new Five Below store is under construction at Glassboro’s Collegetown Shopping Center, taking over about half of the former Staples store.
A new small building is also being developed behind the Chase Bank, which will be home to Tropical Smoothie Cafe and European Wax Center.
Construction crews are deep into the demo and rebuild of the former Staples storefront, and construction fencing is up behind the Chase bank (and asphalt removed).
In another potential twist to the story, the Rainbow Shops store is open but no longer listed on the Collegetown Shopping Center site plan directory, and the space is indicated as available for lease. We are not clear if that means Rainbow Shops Glassboro will be closing.
But overall, the folks at property owner Brixmor have done an amazing job transforming this shopping center after K-Mart closed.
What’s going on at the old Staples in Glassboro? Five Below
We started getting messages and comments in the last week or so “What’s going on at the old Staples in Glassboro”.
So anyway.. my research into what is going on at the former Staples lead me to figuring out three new stores are coming to the Collegetown Shopping Center…and based on square footage alone, the new Five Below is the bigger story.
The Collegetown Shopping Center is located on Delsea Drive in Glassboro’s core retail/commercial district. The shopping center has had an amazing rebirth after K-Mart closed, bringing in LIDL, Big Lots, Ross, Chase Bank and Chipotle.
And to bring everyone up to speed, if you aren’t aware, Five Below is a specialty discount store that sells products which cost up to $5. The store styling and product mix make it a fun place to shop for families with children as they have a significant amount of kid’s oriented products.
Five Below is based in Philadelphia with their headquarters on Market Street in the famous “Lit Brothers” building!
42 Freeway Fun Fact!
Back to Glassboro, the closed Staples store clocked in at 20,000+ square feet, and a Five Below store is smaller than that. Industry observers say the typical Five Below store is 8,000 square feet.
The Glassboro Five Below store will have 9,500 available to it, and will take the left portion of the empty unit property.
The remaining 10,500 square feet of the Staples is currently not rented.
The location within the Collegetown shopping center is somewhat in the middle, off to the right. The LIDL Grocery store is very close, as is a Dollar Tree. These stores should compliment each other very well, sharing foot traffic.
“Kids, get in the car we’re going shopping at LIDL. If you’re good, we can stop at Five Below too!”
In our area Five Below has several locations including Deptford, Audubon, Marlton and TWO in Washington Township.
And by the way readers, thank you so much for reaching out to 42Freeway when you want to find out about new commercial projects. I may not know the answer right out of the gate, but I’ll do my darndest to figure it out!
New Building: Tropical Smoothie Cafe and European Wax Center.
As mentioned, a new 2,800 sq ft building will be developed directly behind the new Chase Bank, and will be split to support a two new tenants; Tropical Smoothie Cafe and European Wax Center.
This new building will be almost exactly the same size as the Chase Bank.
In our visit this morning the construction fencing was up around the perimeter of the construction area, and the asphalt was removed to expose the dirt.
This one surprises 42Freeway, but then it doesn’t!
We’ve been following this amazing rejuvenation of the Collegetown Shopping Center since the K-Mart first closed and have been the first to report on most of the upgrades and new tenants… and we new that another building was coming…
But reading the early descriptions of the approved changes from a few years ago, it was just tough to discern where all of the new buildings were going, and when the final pieces of the puzzle would start going in!
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is… well it’s a very descriptive business name. It basically explains itself! Ha!
Although the reality is so much more!
Absolutely they have a large variety of smoothies; from dessert style to nutrition based.
Their menu shows 22 different varieties, 3 more for kids, and 16 supplements and add-ins
But the thing you didn’t expect is that they also offer a FOOD!
A look at their online menu shows they have a fairly decent selection of handheld food items.
Flatbreads, wraps, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads and sides. Chicken, Turkey, Veggie…
In the core 42Freeway area they have a location in the Gloucester Town Center on Cross Keys Road, and I have no idea how I missed posting on them when they opened.
European Wax Center
We posted on European Wax Center five years ago when they opened a location in Deptford, near Hobby Lobby.
European Wax Center has over 850 locations, and as you would expect based on the name… they feature “waxing” hair removal. Their website shows their services also include body and skincare products.
They have six locations in the Counties of Camden, Gloucester and Burlington and Glassboro will make 7.
Considering that Deptford store opening was 5 years ago and they are still expanding, I think we can say the Wax Center is clearing ripping it up!
Links and Locations
Collegetown Shopping Center
731 Delsea Drive
Glassboro, NJ 08028
Collegetown Facebook
Five Below Website
Tropical Island Smoothie Website