Federated Department Stores Inc. announced plans to close its New Jersey-based Stern's department store division. As a result, Federated will convert 19 of Stern's 24 locations in New York and New Jersey to either Macy's or Bloomingdale's. Specifically, at Bridgewater Commons in Bridgewater, NJ and Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ, the current Stern's stores will be converted into Bloomingdale's. These stores are scheduled to close by mid-year and reopen as Bloomingdale's in 2002 following major renovations that are expected to take approximately 18 months. At Woodbridge Center in Woodbridge, NJ, Stern's will be converted into Macy's. This store will remain in continuous operation through the transition. Macy's plans to remodel converted locations incrementally over the next several years. These 3 retail centers are managed by The Rouse Co., a REIT which is headquartered in Columbia, MD. Bridgewater Commons is an 888,000-square-foot center containing a 129,000-square-foot Lord & Taylor and a 223,000-square-foot Macy’s as anchors, in addition to 157 specialty shops and restaurants. Willowbrook Mall, totaling 1.528 million square feet, houses a 120,000-square-foot Lord & Taylor, a 358,000-square-foot Macy’s, a 290,000-square-foot Sears and 180 specialty shops and restaurants. The Woodbridge Center totals 1.546 million square feet of retail space and is anchored by a 150,000-square-foot Fortunoff, a 173,000-square-foot JCPenney, a 120,000-square-foot Lord & Taylor, and a 275,000-square-foot Sears, in addition to 210 specialty shops and eateries. In New Jersey, The Rouse Co. also owns and manages Cherry Hill Center, Moorestown Mall and Paramus Park.