The old Lackawanna terminal on Bloomfield Avenue was built as a train station in 1913 and decommissioned in the 1980s. The Pathmark that later anchored the site closed in 2015. For most of the following decade, Montclair talked about the property mainly as a stalled grocery story.
The building reopened in June 2025, and The Montclair Pod counted 23 small businesses operating inside by March 2026. The Pod called the place "a kind of interim village." "Interim" may last a while. The permanent redevelopment still has several approval steps and a multiyear build ahead of it. In the meantime, the version of Lackawanna Plaza people can actually use is a covered, heated hall of independent businesses, and it fills up in November and December.
The Permanent Plan Is Still Early
The redeveloper is BDP Holdings LLC, led by David Placek. The current proposal calls for a supermarket of about 40,000 square feet, roughly 75,000 square feet of offices and 300 homes. Here is where that plan stood in 2026:
- February 24. The Township Council tabled the proposed tax agreement after a public hearing, while reaffirming BDP as redeveloper, as Montclair Local reported.
- March 24. The council approved a 30-year PILOT, a payment in lieu of taxes, by a 6–1 vote. Montclair Local noted that the project still needed Planning Board review.
- March 30. A judge upheld the 2024 redevelopment plan against a legal challenge. Afterward, Placek told Montclair Local that he expected to submit a site-plan application "in the coming months."
After the PILOT vote, Placek told The Montclair Pod, "We're excited to move forward and complete our site plan application for the future of Lackawanna Plaza and appreciate the time and consideration the council put into the PILOT Agreement recognizing the extraordinary costs and challenges of this project."
The construction estimate matters most for anyone wondering how long the current setup will last. In the same Montclair Pod interview, Placek estimated three to four years of construction once final approvals are in. The redevelopment agreement allows up to eight years. Final approvals come first, and they depend on a Planning Board process that, by Placek's own description in March, had no set timeline. No move-out date for the current tenants has been reported.
The Building Is Leased for the Wait
The interim plaza's leases fit that timeline. Under the Little Shops program, tenants rent compact storefronts at flat monthly rents with short commitments. The plaza advertises them as flexible retail spaces with one-year terms, and its directory lists spaces as available. According to The Montclair Pod, many Little Shops tenants are local entrepreneurs who had trouble affording storefronts in downtown Montclair.
One-year leases mean the lineup changes. Pineapple Express Barbecue closed in January 2026, and Montclair Local reported in August that Industry Tavern had signed a lease for that space. Some tenants are settling in, though. In January 2026, Montclair Pickleball opened two indoor courts inside the terminal, the club's first permanent location. The plaza's site describes Lackawanna Station as "the only mall in America made up entirely of independent businesses."
The building itself shapes what happens there. The Big Room is a 34,000-square-foot space with a large mural gallery, and it's rented out for markets and events. Murals and sculptures line the interior. Skyline, an installation produced with the School of Visual Arts, was designed around the building's cavernous architecture.
The Weekly Schedule Inside
The plaza is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Individual shops set their own hours. The anchor tenants keep schedules that cover different parts of the week:
- Burgers • Donuts • Potatoes, known as BDP, serves Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Ironbound Farm Market sells produce, meats and specialty items sourced largely from farms in New Jersey and nearby states. Listed hours are Monday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Boozie's Wine Shoppe & Mini Bar opens Wednesday through Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. and weekends from noon to 8 p.m.
- RecRoom, the coworking space, runs weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. It hosts Wednesday Schmear at 9 a.m. every Wednesday, with bagels and coffee, and a Friday happy hour from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Keep Creating Art Wellness Center is an all-abilities art studio and gallery, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Food trucks rotate outside. Every month, the Montclair Flea brings vintage finds, handmade goods and local food vendors to the building.
Seven Weeks of Events Under One Roof
Being a heated indoor hall matters most in late fall. The plaza's events calendar for the rest of the year:
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Through November | Wendy Richmond, "Look again" | Photography show at Keep Creating |
| Nov. 14–15 | Jersey Girl Thrift Fall Swap and New Jersey Veg Fest | Weekend events |
| Nov. 20 | Art Night Fridays: Scrabble Art | 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 28 to Dec. 20 | Montclair Flea's Holiday Market | Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Dec. 1 | Free digital DIY workshop with Eli Wagner | Listed on the plaza calendar |
| Dec. 3 | She Invests | Listed on the plaza calendar |
| Dec. 27 | NJ Card Market | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
The Holiday Market starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving and runs four weekends: November 28–29, December 5–6, December 12–13 and December 19–20. Vendors bring festive décor, handmade gifts, vintage pieces and accessories. Santa will be at every market from noon to 4 p.m. for free photos. The market's own listing points out that the space is indoors, so weather won't cancel a shopping trip in December.
Parking, Trains and the Honk App
Lackawanna Station's address is 1 Lackawanna Plaza. Two lots on either side of the building hold 400 spaces combined. Parking is paid hourly through the Honk app, using QR codes posted around the lots, and there's street parking nearby. By train, Bay Street Station on the Montclair-Boonton line is a short walk away. NJ Transit bus routes 11, 28, 29, 34 and 97 stop nearby.
The station built for trains in 1913 is spending this December as a market hall. The supermarket and homes planned for the site are still several approval steps away, and the Holiday Market opens November 28 at 11 a.m.
Montclair's older buildings often get second lives before anyone settles their permanent use, and those second lives shape how a neighborhood feels day to day. If you care about how architecture and place come together in town, Shannon Xavier would be glad to hear from you. Schedule Your Concierge Consultation.
