June 29, 2026
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The stores inside Exton Square Mall, built in Chester County in 1973, are closing Tuesday, June 30. Redevelopment plans for the property have been the subject of a monthslong legal battle between owner Abrams Realty & Investment and the West Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors.
The stores inside Exton Square Mall will close Tuesday amid an ongoing legal dispute between property owner Abrams Realty & Development and the board of supervisors in West Whiteland Township.
The owner of the struggling mall, which opened in Chester County in 1973, notified five of its remaining tenants that they will need to vacate their storefronts by the end of the month. Only the stores with their own separate entrances — Boscov's, Main Line Health and Round1 Bowling & Arcade — will remain at the mall.
“Operating the interior of the property has become untenable due to deteriorating conditions and rising utility costs," Peter Abrams, founder of the Montgomery County-based development firm, said in a statement. “The state of the building prevents us from leasing the property to create a safe and thriving center for the community. The only path forward remains redevelopment.”
A spokesperson for Abrams Realty said the closure affects only five tenants, and occupancy at the mall had dwindled to less than 20% from about 62% in 2024. Among the stores impacted are the nonprofit thrift shop the Wardrobe and Kay Jewelers
Abrams Realty bought the 53-year-old mall from PREIT for $34.25 million in March 2025, hoping to create a mixed-use town center with more than 700 homes and new retail. Only the Boscov's would remain under the developer's proposal. Main Line Health would move to another location on the 75-acre property, which is located at the busy intersection of Routes 100 and 30.
West Whiteland's planning commission unanimously recommended that the township's board approve Abrams Realty's redevelopment plan last August. But board supervisors Rajesh Kumbhardare and Brian Dunn voted 2-0 to reject the proposal, preventing it from entering the township's land development process. The supervisors cited concerns about traffic, sewer capacity, emergency services and the impact of more homes on nearby schools. They said they received hundreds of emails from residents opposed to the plan.
"It's not like we want to shut it down and not have anything developed," Dunn told PhillyVoice in November. "We have an open mind. It's just this particular plan is not going to work, and that's why we turned it down."
A rendering shows Abrams Realty & Development's proposal to build a mixed-use town center with more than 700 homes at the 75-acre site of the Exton Square Mall in Chester County. The project is tied up in litigation.
Abrams Realty appealed the board's decision in a civil lawsuit filed in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas in November. Arguments in the case were heard in April, and the two sides have not come to a resolution in the months since the hearing.
"We are hoping for a ruling soon," the Abrams Realty spokesperson said Monday.
Before Abrams Realty purchased the Exton Square Mall, the township had been in discussions with PREIT for several years about other redevelopment plans that included more commercial space and about 300 homes. One option was to build a new Costco store, but that project did not advance.
PREIT, one of the region's largest mall operators, went through two rounds of bankruptcy before selling the Exton Square Mall as part of a plan to offload some of its properties. PREIT also sold a large portion of the Plymouth Meeting Mall in Montgomery County and ceded its share of the Fashion District Philadelphia, in addition to selling properties in South Jersey in recent years.
The conflict between West Whiteland and Abrams Realty centers on the timing of the township's change to a zoning ordinance that covers the Exton Square Mall. Dunn and Kumbhardare said they had begun talks to rezone Exton's entire town center — about 650 acres — to reduce the residential density permitted on properties within the district months before sale of the Exton Square Mall was completed. The zoning ordnance was passed in February 2025. Abrams Realty was already under contract to buy the mall.
"The zoning change was not just for this property. It affects every property in the town center district," Kumbhardare told PhillyVoice in November. "If other town center (businesses) start deciding that they want to convert to apartments, the density would be overwhelming for the township. That's why we said we need to make sure the development is done in a fashion that is more responsible and not affecting our township."
Abrams Realty submitted its mall redevelopment proposal to the township's planning commission under the old zoning ordinance. Dunn and Kumbhardare said the recommendation for approval of the project was non-binding.
"The final authority in the approval process has always been the supervisors," Kumbhardare said. "The planning commission is a recommending body. They give their opinion, but it is solely on certain parameters that they are given. They cannot make a decision on the larger benefit."
Kumbhardare claimed the economic benefits from Abrams Realty's proposal would be offset by the need to hire more police officers in West Whiteland and invest in stormwater management.
"It's too concentrated and dense in one place," Kumbhardare said of Abrams Realty's plan.
The supervisors said they would prefer to see a plan for the property that emphasizes more commercial development, including high-end retail that can compete with the King of Prussia Mall.
In addition to the civil lawsuit, attorneys for Abrams Realty also lodged a challenge to the updated town center zoning ordinance with the West Whiteland Zoning Hearing Board. If the developer were to resubmit a new proposal for the mall property, the plan currently would be subject to the density limits under the new ordinance.
Abrams Realty hopes to win its appeal in court and start work on the redevelopment next year.
"The project will transform this dead mall into a green and vibrant space for shopping, dining, living, and gathering," the developer said in a statement. "It will also bring new events to the community including a farmers market, live music and family-focused activities.”
