Changes are coming to the Princeton Shopping Center, the outdoor mall at 301 North Harrison Street (map), with a number of new openings for local residents to look forward to. In particular, there seems to be a focus on health and fitness. At the south end of the mall, “Ohm Fitness” is opening near the Chop’t salad bar. They promise to “redefine the workout experience”, bringing results 3x faster than conventional fitness approaches. This will be their second outlet, after an existing branch in Wayne NJ.

Meanwhile, over near the long-standing Ace Hardware store, “Form By Two” is due to open “in early 2025”. It will be “a dual-modality studio offering Lagree classes and private reformer Pilates training, with adaptable workouts designed to meet you at any fitness level.” What is Lagree?? It is “also known as the Megaformer Workout…a low-impact, high-intensity method that tightens & tones in as little as 20-minutes a session”. Apparently Kim Kardashian and Michelle Obama are fans.

‘Ohm Fitness’ and ‘Form By Two’ will join the existing “Alpha Fit Club“, a popular outlet offering classes “that blend traditional strength training with HIIT style cardio”. The arrival of at least three fitness centers at Princeton Shopping Center reflects the changing nature of retail in malls and downtowns across the country. Although ‘traditional’ stores selling physical items are not as common as before (in large part because of online retail), there is a growing market for ‘experiential’ retail such as gyms, and, of course, places to eat or get coffee. Princeton Shopping Center has been through many waves of changes in retail. When it first opened in 1954, it was anchored by a Bamberger’s department store.

The fitness surge at Princeton Shopping Center is not just for adults either! Over by the long-standing “Concord Pet Foods & Supplies“, a new storefront promises the coming arrival of a branch of “Kids United“. They will offer “seven different year-round early development soccer programs for children aged 1.5 to 10 years old”. Princeton will be their seventh location in New Jersey.

Despite abundant free parking at the Princeton Shopping Center, there have been quite a lot of vacancies there in recent years. The new activity comes at a time when two large apartment complexes will be opening at either side of the mall, “The Alice” and “Avalon Princeton on Harrison“. While it’s impossible to say if there is any connection, it seems likely that adding these new homes will help to boost business at the Princeton Shopping Center in the coming years.