NJ celeb sad about mall fate, as demolition is underway

EATONTOWN — Plans to shutdown Monmouth Mall and drastically revamp the site for mixed use have been sending shockwaves across generations of shoppers, since the wheels were set in motion.

Among them is Jason Mewes, actor and longtime collaborator and friend of Kevin Smith.

Mewes — "Jay" to Smith's "Silent Bob" persona in his films — recently posted a video to social media, including Instagram, while back in New Jersey and catching up on the news.

Seated in his car with the mall behind him, Mewes shared memories of taking a bus across Monmouth County to hang out at the shopping center in Eatontown.

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He runs through memories of trying to meet girls (a large part of the plot of Smith's "Mallrats," which the duo appeared in), as well as going to the movies.

The AMC theater has actually been one remaining part of the reimagined mall site, as shown in a series of renderings made public by officials.

In May, Kushner Companies broke ground on the $500 million project, now dubbed Monmouth Square.

Plans call for the demolition of about 600,000 square feet of existing retail space — including the former Lord & Taylor and JCPenney anchor stores, Jersey Digs reported.

As of September, demo work had gotten underway, as seen in video shared by NJ.com to YouTube.

By late October, even more had been torn down as seen in drone footage shared by Jersey Shore Memories to YouTube.

The AMC movie theater, Macy’s, and Boscov’s were all to remain open during construction.

The latest glimpses did show Macy's and the AMC theater untouched, along with other elements of the mall.

Kushner plans for the new site have been more open-air shopping, in the style of outlet malls such as Jersey Shore in Tinton Falls.

The new layout cuts down on the amount of retail space by 40%, according to Kushner in a release in September.

The company also confirmed $415 million in construction financing through Fortress Investment Group and Rithm Capital Corporation.

Instead, the town center design would feature 990,000 square feet of retail, restaurant space and a Whole Foods Market.

There would be 1,000 residential units and medical office space, as well as a public green, and a network of pedestrian pathways.

Another look at the overall finished project — shows the mix of residential housing, alongside revamped shopping and recreational space.

The Whole Foods Market was planned for the space currently used by Barnes & Noble, which would be relocated on site, Jersey Digs also reported.

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