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It's official: King of Prussia becomes one vast mall with 50 new retailers and restaurants

Good bye, Plaza. So long, Court.

At 9:45 a.m. Thursday, King of Prussia Mall was officially declared "one mall" by owner Simon Property Group.

Hello Bonobos and Calligaris.

Bring it on, Jimmy Choo, Vince, and CH Carolina Herrera.

The East Coast's premiere shopping mall just grew by about 500,000 square feet. It now includes a 155,000-square-foot connector that ties together the two former sections for the first time, and an added 250,000-square-foot wing, home to 50 new retailers and restaurants.

The expansion that started 30 months ago was capped Thursday with a ribbon splicing, not a cutting: Two ribbons from each mall were joined at Savor King of Prussia, the mall's new food court with WiFi stations and fountains throughout.

"King of Prussia has reached new heights," said Rick Sokolov, Simon's president and chief operating officer, just moments before the ribbon ceremony. "I think we have come up with a collection of retailers that people would find compelling."

Those stores opening Thursday included Cartier, Altar'd State, and David Yurman.

The mall last year attracted 25 million visitors, about the same number as Atlantic City's beaches and casinos.

"But we're not done," Sokolov said. "We invest in our properties and we're always thinking about what's next."

The expansion brings the total retail square footage in the King of Prussia area to 6.3 million.

The upgrade has been credited for spurring more than $750 million in construction nearby for residential and office uses to handle the influx of thousands of new workers. The first ground-up commercial office building in a decade is set to open in the nearby King of Prussia Business Park.

At the same time, a cluster of luxury apartments, stores, and eateries is sprouting at the Village at Valley Forge and at the $100 million King of Prussia Town Center.

SEPTA is proposing to extend the Norristown High Speed Rail Line so it would have at least two stops by the mall and two more in the business park. If approved, the $1.1 billion project could open in 2023.

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