‘A little bit barren’ but ‘not dead’: How Philadelphians really view the Fashion District

Leeann Smith has been frequenting the Fashion District since it opened in 2019.

On Thursday evening, the 25-year-old was there with her friend Quaron Grimes. Once or twice a week, on their days off, the pair eat at the Wok Chinese Kitchen in the food court, then walk the mall, window shopping and bargain-hunting.

“Sometimes we spend too much,” Smith, a maintenance porter, said with a laugh. As the sun slinked below the Center City skyline, the pair had yet to make a purchase. Grimes carried only a bag with their Chinese leftovers.

But before heading home to West Philly, they had one more stop to make: Burlington. It’s their favorite place to find “cheap but durable” clothes, said Grimes, a 33-year-old cook at the South Philly stadiums, and they were in the market for “more Eagles stuff for Sunday.”

Their casual enjoyment of the mall mirrored the nonchalant contentment expressed by about two dozen Philadelphia-area consumers that The Inquirer interviewed this week. The mall may not be the most exciting, they said, but it serves a purpose. It’s not just a place to shop and eat, but to meet friends, take a walk indoors, or simply pass time.

Some described the Fashion District as “a little bit barren” or “not the same” as its large suburban counterparts like the King of Prussia Mall. A few expressed stronger negative feelings, saying it lacked the vibrancy of its predecessor, the Gallery.

But by and large, shoppers and passersby described a lively place. They said they like some of its stores, especially the movie theater and arcade.

» READ MORE: Market East and the Fashion District face an unclear future

For the past two years, amid heated debate over the controversial Sixers arena plan, the three-block 800,000-square-foot Fashion District — and its few standalone-retail neighbors — have been supporting characters.

In news articles and public discussions, the mall’s shops are naturally lumped in with the rest of Market East, which is plagued by vacant storefronts and a rundown appearance. The area has been described by onlookers, experts, and critics as near-death and in desperate need of a comeback, one that now won’t involve a stadium since the Sixers abandoned those plans for a new deal in South Philly earlier this month.

The Fashion District’s occupancy rate last year was 80%, lower than healthy malls, which typically have a 92% to 95% occupancy. But Macerich, the California company that owns the complex, paid off its debt on the building in April, and foot traffic in December hit post-pandemic highs, with about 19,000 daily visitors.

Many people inside the Fashion District are on their way somewhere else.

Commuters hustle in and out of the building, carrying backpacks, lunch boxes, and the occasional suitcase, heading toward Jefferson Station, which connects to the mall’s ground floor, near the food court.

On two recent weekday afternoons, a couple dozen people sat in the food court, but just one or two had shopping bags with them. People popped into the mall’s entrance at 9th and Market Streets seeking a bathroom, or just a warm place to wait for friends or a ride.

“This is just a place that has the heat on,” said Hazel Whitman, a 28-year-old art-supplies seller from South Philly. She waited with her roommate for another friend on their way to dinner in Chinatown.

Nearby, a father from Baltimore waited for an Uber with his young daughter, who is in a clinical trial at CHOP. The pair had just seen the movie Wicked — the father’s first viewing, the daughter’s third — at the AMC Dine-In on the mall’s third floor.

A young woman from South Philly said she often catches a movie at AMC and finds some fun at the Round 1 Bowling & Arcade venue on her days off.

Others’ visits were less purposeful.

Kaream Al-Jabban, a 22-year-old University of Pennsylvania dental student, said he visited the mall because “Honestly I was just bored out of my mind.” He had passed by the Fashion District several times during his two years in the city but never walked in until Thursday.

“It’s a little bit barren,” he said.

Troy Newby Jr., a 21-year-old Temple University senior, went to the Fashion District Thursday for an event at the Industrious coworking space, and had previously been there more than two years earlier, when a friend visiting from out of state needed a last-minute Halloween costume.

Brianna Cartagena, 25, of Northeast Philadelphia, popped in to stay warm as she waited for her fiancé to pick her up after work. Cartagena, a teacher’s assistant in Chinatown, said she comes to the Fashion District about twice a month for makeup products at Sephora or Ulta, or to grab lunch at BurgerFi.

“I really like it during the middle of the day,” when it’s less crowded, Cartagena said.

Quaira Leach, 29, walked over to the mall after she got off her shift at Wills Eye Hospital. She needed a new winter hat, and ended up browsing Primark’s kids’ section, grabbing a $25 Hello Kitty clothing set for her daughter.

Normally, for in-person shopping, the Northeast Philadelphia resident makes the trek to King of Prussia.

“It’s not the same,” she said of the Fashion District. “Primark in King of Prussia has more for the kids.” But coming from work, she said, the Center City store is more convenient.

Others are drawn to the few standalone stores — Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx, and the soon-to-close Macy’s — spread out between vacant and rundown storefronts across the street from the Fashion District.

Burlington, on the far east end of the Fashion District, is accessible from the street and from inside the mall, though both entrances are cordoned off with a rope that security guards open for patrons.

Keisha Brown, 53, of Germantown, said the heavy security presence doesn’t dissuade her from going downtown every couple months to shop at Ross and Burlington.

“They have good stuff in there,” she said “and you ain’t gotta spend a lot of money.”

She’ll sometimes browse other shops at the Fashion District, she said, but finds it “more boutique-ish” with fewer deals than Ross or Burlington.

“Only time I’ve been in there — and it’s been a minute — is to go to the top floor for the movies,” she said. And “instead of me freezing my keister off, I walk through the mall to get to Reading Terminal Market.”

Denise Madre continues to grieve the Gallery, the nearly-40-year-old mall that preceded the Fashion District in the same location. She only steps into the new mall to catch a train or see a movie — if someone else is treating.

“The Gallery was like Philly. Philly has a vibe, an energy, an attitude,” said Madre, who’d go to the mall regularly to shop and eat. “Sometimes even if I was not in a great mood and needed to get out of the house, I’d go to the Gallery.”

But “they erased everything that made the Gallery great,” said Madre, 46, of Germantown.

Judith Robinson, a 68-year-old real estate broker, disagrees.

The North Philadelphia resident and preservation advocate, who frequently testifies at City Council meetings, said she went to the Fashion District on Black Friday, prepared for disappointment given how others describe the mall at council meetings.

“I was thinking we were going to see dollar stores the way they were acting,” Robinson said, but the offerings were “higher quality” than she expected.

“It was bustling,” Robinson said. While it could use some improvement, she said, “it’s not dead.”