Queens Center Mall and the Queens Boulevard Pull
Come up Queens Boulevard toward Elmhurst and the approaches become obvious. Buses stack along the curb. Cars angle toward Exit 19 off the Long Island Expressway.
The Woodhaven Boulevard station empties riders from the M and R trains into the same crossings and corners. The area runs on traffic signals, delivery stops, and steady foot movement.
Queens Center Mall sits on that flow along Queens Boulevard. Before the mall, the site held different uses. Part of the block was Fairyland, a children's amusement park.
Nearby were a supermarket and automobile parking lots. The property already functioned as a place where people arrived, lingered, and then left again.
In 1970, plans were announced for Queens Center, a major new shopping center on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst (near the Rego Park border), with Abraham & Straus and Ohrbach's as the original anchor tenants.
The plan targeted a borough with a population of two million residents and purchasing power exceeding $9.6 billion. At the time, much of that shopping was occurring outside Queens.
The project was conceived to keep more retail spending within the borough by building at a location positioned to capture traffic at the junction of Queens and Woodhaven Boulevards near a Long Island Expressway interchange.
Taubman and Gruen Build a Hard Shell
The Queens Center Mall was developed by the Taubman Company, the Michigan-based retail real estate firm founded by A. Alfred Taubman. By the early 1970s, Taubman was already known for enclosed mall development.
The architectural design was assigned to Victor Gruen Associates, the firm associated with fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping centers.
Construction began on a 5.1-acre site. The project cost was reported at $60 million.
The plan called for a four-level enclosed shopping center clad in dark blue glazed brick. The interior was organized around a circular courtyard about 66 feet in diameter.
Balconies lined the courtyard on upper levels, allowing views across the space and down to the level below.
Parking was built into the project at a scale set by city limits. A six-level parking garage was constructed with capacity for 1,450 vehicles. A city-owned parking lot across the street provided an additional 600 spaces.
The site was positioned to serve shoppers arriving by multiple modes, including subway and bus service nearby as well as direct automobile access from surrounding highways.
Queens Center's 1973 Opening
Queens Center opened on September 12, 1973. The original plan centered on two department store anchors at opposite ends of the building.
Abraham & Straus opened in a 300,000-square-foot store at the eastern end. It was the company's ninth location in the New York metropolitan area and its first in Queens.
Ohrbach's opened at the other end in a 140,000-square-foot store. It was also the chain's first Queens location.
Between the anchors, the mall opened with 70 specialty retailers. Early tenants included Herman's Sporting Goods, Tie City, and Brentano's books.
The interior was arranged across three levels above ground and one below-ground level.
The main entrance on Queens Boulevard was located on the second level. Escalators connected shoppers to upper and lower levels and set the circulation pattern through the center of the building.
The stated purpose was to keep more shopping activity in Queens by capturing spending that had been leaving the borough, using the mall's location and tenant mix to make it a primary retail stop for local residents.
Ohrbach's Leaves, Names Shift in Place
The first major anchor change came in the late 1980s. Ohrbach's, which had opened at Queens Center in 1973, closed in 1987 as part of a chainwide restructuring.
The parent company, Amcena Corporation, acquired the Howland-Steinbach department store chain in June 1986 and then announced that the remaining Ohrbach's stores would be closed.
At Queens Center, the former Ohrbach's space was converted to Steinbach in 1987, keeping the same anchor box in service under a different banner.
JCPenney opened at Queens Center in 1989 as an additional anchor tenant. The Steinbach conversion did not last long.
Steinbach closed in 1990, and the former space was later absorbed into JCPenney's expanded operation, shifting the anchor balance at that end of the mall.
A second anchor identity change followed in the mid-1990s. Federated Department Stores acquired the bankrupt R.H. Macy & Company in 1994.
In 1995, the Abraham & Straus nameplate was retired after 130 years. The Queens Center Abraham & Straus store was converted to Macy's.
The original 1973 anchor name was replaced with a new banner, while the department store footprint remained in place.
A $275 Million Rebuild Changes the Light
In the summer of 2002, Queens Center began a major redevelopment under Macerich, which had acquired the property in the 1990s.
The project budget was reported at $275 million. The work expanded and reconfigured the mall and moved it toward its later size of about 967,000 square feet of gross leasable area.
The expansion added a new wing to the east of 92nd Street.
The original mall and the new construction were tied together by a pedestrian walkway built over 92nd Street, creating a continuous interior route between the two sections.
Inside the original portion, the renovation altered the look and light levels. The original dark ceiling was replaced with a skylight.
Interior finishes were updated, and the color scheme shifted from darker blues to lighter tones.
Common areas were rebuilt with modern materials, including chrome handrails along the atrium.
The new section opened with a lighter palette, using beige and cream finishes and skylight ceilings.
As part of the project, JCPenney relocated to a larger store in the new wing. Macy's expanded by adding an additional floor.
The redevelopment increased the number of merchants from 69 to 175. New retailers included Express, The Body Shop, and Benetton.
Dining capacity also increased, with an expanded food court and additional options added during the redevelopment period.
Holiday All-Nighters and Big Sales Numbers
During the 2006 Christmas season, the Macy's at Queens Center began operating 24 hours a day for a limited period.
It was the first Macy's store in the company to run around the clock. The extended schedule was used to handle holiday volume and keep the store open through overnight hours.
The change drew enough business that the Queens Center Macy's continued all-day operations during every Christmas shopping season afterward.
The approach later influenced extended-hour or 24-hour holiday operations at other Macy's locations.
Queens Center's sales performance was frequently cited alongside its high traffic.
Even before the 2002-2004 expansion, the mall earned an average of about $900 per square foot, well above a national average reported at roughly $300 to $325 per square foot.
By 2008, sales were reported at $876 per square foot, maintaining the mall's reputation as one of the most productive shopping centers in the United States.
Annual visitor traffic has been estimated at about 26 to 27 million people. The mall's location supports that volume.
March and November 2019 Spill Over Again
Queens Center's volume has a downside: when something goes wrong, it goes wrong at scale.
On March 8, 2019, rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Julius Dubose, was scheduled to appear for a book signing at the Puma store at 5:30 pm.
The crowd that arrived was far larger than security had anticipated.
Fights broke out around 2:30 pm, and looting spread into multiple stores, including Foot Locker, with people taking merchandise while fights continued.
Police responded and decided the appearance should be cancelled. The message did not land immediately.
Crowds did not accept the announcements on the spot, and additional police units were dispatched to evacuate the mall.
Hours later, after the mall and the rapper posted about the cancellation on social media, the crowds began to subside. At least two people were taken into custody.
In November 2019, the mall faced another surge, this one tied to a half-day of school.
About 1,000 high school students arrived, and massive brawls broke out in the food court before spreading into riots on surrounding streets.
Police blocked teenagers from entering for the rest of the night.
Renovations and Tenants Into 2026
Queens Center moved through the mid-2020s with practical upgrades: carpeting, modern lighting, and updated seating, with live greenery installations and parking garage improvements underway.
By October 2024, the Macerich-controlled portion was reported to be 100% leased, with Warby Parker, Gap, and Kiko Milano listed as upcoming.
In October 2024, Macerich closed a $525 million, five-year refinance at a fixed rate, interest-only, maturing November 2029, replacing an existing $600 million loan.
In March 2025, the mall listed eight tenant additions while noting ongoing renovations: San Wei, Psycho Bunny, Digiso, Dave's Hot Chicken, Poke Island, Burlington, Primark, and H&M. It also said Dossier and PacSun were scheduled to open in the coming months.
Poke Island opened in May 2025. Hot Topic marked a re-grand opening for a newly expanded and relocated store on July 11-13, 2025.
Samsung opened a Samsung Experience Store with a grand opening on October 24, 2025. On January 1, 2026, Burmese Bites closed its stall inside the food court.
Queens Center's anchors are Macy's, JCPenney, and Primark. Macerich operates the main mall, while the JCPenney/Burlington building is separately owned by Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.
The mall sits beside the Woodhaven Boulevard station on the M and R trains, next to Exit 19, about 8 miles from Midtown Manhattan.
Nearby, the planned Willets Point development is expected to generate a $6 billion economic impact and create 16,000 jobs.
