For the first time in its half-century of existence, the King of Prussia Mall will be one huge, gigantic, enormous entity.

On Thursday, execs at powerhouse mall owner Simon Property Group plan to connect two ribbons, writes Suzette Parmley for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

They’ll take one ribbon from the Plaza, one from the Court, and connect them at Savor, the new food pavilion, and announce the Plaza and Court as “no more,” only King of Prussia.

The $250 million expansion that started two and half years ago has come to fruition, to make the mall that attracts 25 million visitors a year even more of a draw.

“The question that Simon Property had to answer was, ‘How does a brick-and-mortar mall compete in the digital age?'” said William J. Park, a partner at Deloitte & Touche, who heads the firm’s retail division for the Philadelphia region.

“With the proliferation of online sales and online-only markets like Amazon, we have seen an increase in the fragmentation of the retail market.”

Success “can, and will, include physical stores,” he said. “Premium malls like KOP need to focus on offering the customer not only a unique product offering, but also a unique experience.”

To connect the Plaza and the Court, it took about 60 contractors employing more than 1,900 people working inside the corridor with their respective tenants to build or expand their stores, while construction work continued on the exterior.

Simon built 250,000 square feet of building in the air, with 5,000 tons of steel on more than 900 piles into the ground to hold it up, to connect two massive buildings, four entrances, and two parking garages. The 155,000-square-foot connector ties it all together.

Click here to read more about the King of Prussia Mall in the Philadelphia Inquirer.