BERGEN
TOWN CENTER

Bergen Town Center, a legacy shopping mall just outside New York City, has long served as a community hub—once home to a chapel, ice rink, and civic center. As the site refocuses on retail, our team was engaged to reimagine its exterior public realm, with a focus on the underutilized south façade.

The design revitalizes nearly 1,500 feet of storefront sidewalk and three 10,000-square-foot plazas. Previously defined by narrow walkways, sparse seating, and a lack of shade, these spaces offered little comfort or sense of arrival. Our master plan envisions a series of welcoming outdoor rooms. Places to shop, gather, dine, and linger.

A flowing, ribbon-like sidewalk now guides visitors along the storefront, carving out pockets of lush planting and generous seating. The three plazas serve as community nodes, anchored by dense, garden-like beds and integrated seat walls.

This transformation aims to set a precedent for aging mall sites—turning hardscape-heavy environments into vibrant, people-first destinations rooted in comfort, scale, and community.