Developer Dean Adler is under contract to buy the Franklin Mall — better known by its former name, Franklin Mills — in Northeast Philadelphia, he told the Business Journal. He plans to transform the once-prominent shopping destination into a major youth sports venue and mixed-use development. In addition to the youth sports facility, Adler said his plan is to build workforce housing, restaurants, a hotel and a water park at the site of the 1.6-million-square-foot mall. That would mean demolishing at least a portion of the massive mall, though Adler said he’d like to reuse as much of it as possible. Adler described the 137-acre property as being in an “amazing, dense location” just north of I-95 and near the Bucks County border. He described the Franklin Mall as “outdated” and “obsolete.” The once celebrated outlet mall, developed in 1989 as Franklin Mills and later rebranded as Philadelphia Mills, has been in receivership since 2024.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 4/9/2026