With a brand new Dick’s Sporting Goods, several new tenants and amenities – both restaurants and retailers – and a first-time-ever custom indoor play area, PREIT’s Cumberland Mall in Vineland, NJ is seeing an uptick in traffic as well as a resurgence of popularity.

“This is very exciting!” says Maricela Vega, Cumberland Mall’s Marketing Manager.

Cumberland County, NJ is growing, says Vega, and Cumberland Mall is “growing along with it.” For example, there was an empty anchor spot at the mall and Dick’s Sporting Goods decided to invest in a top-to-bottom new store at the location.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods is relocating here from a nearby town just one mile away,” says Vega. “They wanted access to the traffic here at PREIT’s Cumberland Mall and they decided to tear down the old space to build a new store from the ground up, attached to the mall.”

Additionally, Cumberland Mall opened a mall play area – the first time the mall has offered a play area in its 42-year history.

“This is a big deal!” Vega says. “It’s been open 10 days and it’s always full of little ones. It’s truly exciting to see the little ones enjoying themselves.”

The mall’s owner, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) of Philadelphia, hired Soft Play, LLC to create something special and unique for the community. Jeff Evans, Soft Play’s Director of Business Development, says the company’s team of artists were excited by the mall’s vision for the play area.

“They had a relatively tight space based on the layout of the property but the real estate developer wanted to see something unique, which excited us, as well,” says Evans. “We designed the surround to follow a curved radius which is appealing visually and allowed us to add a counter and seating around the exterior with phone charging and power stations.”

Evans adds, “We created a beautiful and very large entry archway that acts as the ‘wow’ piece and highlights the fruits that are farmed in the area.”

Vega says the inspiration for the play area’s theme came from Inspira Health Network, the play area’s sponsor.

“Inspira has been a long-time supporter of our community,” explains Vega. “They are really in touch with our customers and it was important for them to make a connection with the people who shop in our mall. We teamed up to create an amenity for the families shopping here and to create a meaningful touchpoint for the Inspira brand.”

The play area’s healthy theme includes many fruits and vegetables that are grown in the largely agricultural area where the mall is located.

“Hammonton, NJ is the world capital of blueberries,” explains Vega. “So we made sure to incorporate pieces that were indigenous to the area.”

The play area also includes tomato climbers, a celery slide, a carrot climber and an apple tunnel, among other features.

“Soft Play did an amazing job with the installation but also in providing something completely unique for our community,” says Vega. “I’m sure all the kids here are happy with the results!”

She adds that retailers near the play area are also happy.

“I’m sure they’ve seen an increase in traffic,” says Vega. “The play area is always so busy!”