Gallery's east end to close Oct. 2 for project

The east end of the ragged Gallery at Market East will close Oct. 2, executives confirmed Tuesday, commencing a massive two-year renovation that will push thousands of commuters outside.

Executives of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), the codeveloper with California-based Macerich Co., formally notified SEPTA and PATCO officials of the shutdown date in a hand-delivered letter.

Signs will be posted to redirect rail commuters, who for decades have used the central corridor of the three-block mall as a comfortable indoor shortcut.

Basically, transit riders will need to enter and exit at the attached SEPTA and PATCO stations at Eighth and Market Streets, or via the Convention Center entrance, also known as the Reading Terminal Headhouse.

"We regret the inconvenience that the closure may cause to SEPTA transit riders, but restricting access to the construction area is necessary to maintain public safety," wrote Daniel Herman, PREIT's senior vice president for development.

SEPTA said it expects the closing to go smoothly. "At this time, there are no concerns," SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams said.

PATCO officials said that as the closing nears, they will alert riders through signs, social media, on-train announcements, in-station messages, and fliers on transit-car seats.

The first stage of demolition will take place between Eighth and 10th Streets. A barricade will block access to the east, and to the stairs and escalator at 10th, which now usher people up to Market.

In the second phase, likely to begin next year, construction will move west to 11th Street.

Developers and government leaders believe the eight-block stretch of Market between City Hall and Independence Mall is poised for rebirth - and that a reborn Gallery is a crucial piece of that revival.

PREIT intends to spend $325 million to turn the now-mostly empty, 1970s-era Gallery into the gleaming Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia, featuring off-price stores that sell fashion brands. It plans to add destination restaurants and enough mall-store mix to lure shoppers from across the region.

At most suburban malls, the concourse is simply the main route along which stores are aligned. But the Gallery concourse serves as connective tissue for two major transit centers and a subway line. It's a heavily traversed walkway for commuters, shoppers, and visitors from the suburbs, Philadelphia, and South Jersey.

The Gallery was built to accommodate transit, with the PATCO station at one end and what was then Market East station, now Jefferson, on the other. That layout - and links to two Market-Frankford El stations - ensured that huge numbers of potential customers passed through the mall every day.

Today, 8,900 people enter or exit the PATCO station at Eighth and Market each day, and 26,000 a day use Jefferson Station.

When demolition starts, SEPTA's 11th Street subway station will remain accessible from Jefferson Station and the Market Street entrance to the Convention Center.

To enter and exit Jefferson Station, commuters also can use the street-level doors at 10th and Filbert Street, or those on 11th Street near the Reading Terminal Market.

The SEPTA and PATCO entrances at Eighth and Market will remain open.