At Voorhees Town Center, repairs from April fire keep 'fright site' creator in limbo

VOORHEES - Almost four months after a two-alarm fire at Voorhees Town Center , the struggling mall's public areas remain closed to the public.

And that situation's a nightmare for Mario Cerrito, a horror film producer who had planned to open a fright site at the former Echelon Mall.

"I went through a lot to get the permits to be able to have the business there and just started construction, and the fire happened," Cerrito said Monday.

Work on his prospective business, Fear Village, has been stalled since the April 19 fire, making it impossible to meet its original start date in September, Cerrito said.

"It has really put the future of the business in jeopardy as I was already working with limited funds," says Cerrito, who calls the fire's impact "very upsetting."

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The fire was particularly damaging because it burned behind walls and ceilings in largely vacant areas of the mall, eventually spreading from the ground-floor to the roof.

"The township continues to work with mall management to ensure the property is safe and ready to open back up," said Voorhees Fire Chief James Poland.

But, he added, "I'm not certain on what has been completed and what is left to do."

A representative of the mall's owner, Namdar Realty of New York, could not be reached for comment.

The company recently updated the center's website to say: "Although we are making progress, the interior mall remains closed during fire clean-up."

In fact, the shutdown's gone on for so long that the word "closed" has largely faded from signs on the shopping center's doors.

One sign of optimism: The website is taking reservations for 2024 photos with Santa Claus.

Mall tenants with their own entrances reopened within days of the fire. That includes the township's municipal offices, Boscov's, Neurabilities Healthcare and a dental practice.

A website for Fear Village describes the planned haunted attraction, perhaps fittingly from Cerrito's perspective, as "a gateway to hell."

Now, the producer-director, who made a blood-soaked trailer for his haunted attraction, is pursuing a new strategy — spooky photos with Santa.

"This will be a contest for whoever takes the best pictures with Santa in a horror setting," he explains. "Even if the mall isn't open in time for that, we can do it somewhere else like a rental of hall or something."

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: At Voorhees Town Center, repairs from April fire keep 'fright site' creator in limbo