A plan to redevelop the former Echelon Mall in Voorhees, where a fire last year left much of the property closed to the public, was approved last week by the township in a move that will bring hundreds of new homes to the Camden County community.

Built on a former airfield in 1970, the mall has largely sat vacant in recent years outside of its anchor Macy's and Boscov's stores. The property was last redeveloped in 2007 and rebranded as the Voorhees Town Center, where condos and offices were constructed around the mall. It was once the second-largest in South Jersey, behind the Cherry Hill Mall, before a decline in the 2000s led to a downsizing with the demolition of Sears and JCPenney.

The latest redevelopment plan, now several years in the making, will be led by North Jersey-based Hobok

See Full Page