Since it opened, I have never walked by and not seen it being used,” says Montgomery Mall General Manager Jack Fazio. “It is in constant, constant, constant use. It has been a great success and gets way more use than I ever imagined.”Owned by Simon Property Group and located in North Wales, PA, Montgomery Mall became the nation’s first shopping center with a Wegmans grocery store attached to it in 2013. According to Fazio, that unique shopping partnership led the mall to consider ways that it might better serve the clientele that Wegmans attracts.

“They have a very loyal following,” explains Fazio. “With their proximity, we’ve been able to attract a lot of national retailers such as Banana Republic, Ann Taylor and J. Jill, better serving the customers who shop at Wegmans.”

The mall also underwent a renovation near the Wegmans entrance and, says Fazio, installed its first mall play area in the center’s nearly 40-year history.

Simon Property Group has an agreement with Soft Play, LLC to create custom play areas for the company’s portfolio of shopping centers. The two companies worked together to develop three themed, Simon-specific play areas from which all of the Simon properties can choose when developing new play areas. The themes are: Garden, Jungle and Seascape.

Fazio says there was never any doubt among Montgomery Mall staff which theme they would pick.

“I’m a sailor and, when I have time off, you will find me on a sailboat on the water,” says Fazio. “I love the ocean.”

He says the new Seascape-themed play area at Montgomery Mall is beautiful and has been a “great success” with shoppers.

“It looks fantastic. I’ve received nothing but compliments.”

He also adds that he enjoyed working with Soft Play.

“Kevin Anderson, their installer, was awesome to work with,” says Fazio. “He was patient; he had to coordinate with our electrician; he showed on time; he got the trucks unloaded into a space we gave him… he was great. We all worked really well together.”