Next act for major, but struggling CT mall: ‘Shoppertainment?’

In the 1980s, the rise of The Shoppes at Buckland Hills mall in Manchester marked a stunning transformation from tobacco fields to shopping destination, later spawning a retail mecca spilling into the surrounding area and neighboring South Windsor.

But now, three years after falling into foreclosure, the 1.3 million-square-foot mall perched on a hillside above Interstate 84 is at a crossroads. The property is up for sale, coming at a time of dramatic changes for major enclosed malls , both in Connecticut and nationally. Shoppers are buying more online, a trend hastened by the pandemic; and the era of shopping as entertainment is rapidly receding into the past.

“You’re certainly not going to see a resurgence of department store shopping,” Michael Goman, principal in Goman+York Property Advisors in East Hartford, said. “Or a resurgence of everybody being thrilled with the idea of going to a GAP store or Limited Express or Abercrombie & Fitch. They were the merchant kings of that [earlier] era. They aren’t anymore.”

The move by major mall owners is toward more restaurant and entertainment options to attract visitors, who they believe also will end up shopping, experts say.

“It’s what you hear called ‘Shoppertainment,’ Goman said. “It’s two areas, either food and beverage or arts and entertainment. And there are pretty broad definitions for what can be included in either one.”

Goman estimates that nationally there are about 1,900 malls similar in size to Buckland Hills and in smaller markets such as Hartford that face the challenge of trying to remake themselves for the future, while dealing with the current shopping landscape.

“That’s 1,900 malls that are in some level of distress, and it’s fair to say Buckland Hills falls into that category,” Goman said. “They’ve lost some anchor tenants. They’ve lost some major national, small shop tenants. So, it’s not generating the sales volume or the foot traffic that it once was.”

How quickly Buckland Hills, built in 1990, will attract a buyer is not clear, particularly when there are malls in larger markets that might first grab the attention of a buyer, Goman said.

Not all major, enclosed malls in Connecticut are struggling, however, Two of the most successful are Westfarms , straddling the West Hartford-Farmington town line, and Danbury Fair , experts say.

At Westfarms, experts said a higher-income demographic combined with strong anchors like Nordstrom and a strong mix of specialty shops have contributed to its success. Westfarms, they said, also scored a coup signing Jordan’s Furniture to fill the vacant Lord & Taylor department anchor store space. Jordan’s paired with iconic Sally Apizza to make the store a destination.

Mall turnaround

Since 2021, The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, which also includes a hotel and a handful of restaurants outside the enclosed space, has been in the hands mall turnaround expert Spinoso Real Estate Group. Last month, Buckland Hills went on the auction block, without a starting price.

The foreclosure came a year into the pandemic, following a mandatory, temporary closure of malls and other stores in Connecticut to stop the spread of COViD-19.  During that period, some stores at Buckland Hills closed permanently and others withheld rent payments, making it tougher for the mall’s owners to make payments on a $130 million mortgage held by Wells Fargo Bank, according to a foreclosure filing in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.

An offering circular for the sale places the current overall occupancy at nearly 80%, with the occupancy of stores within the enclosed area at 86%, both decent numbers, Goman said.

JLL, the commercial real estate firm handling the sale, did not return calls and an email seeking comment.

One obstacle that complicates future uses at Buckland Hills — like most enclosed malls in Connecticut and elsewhere — is that spaces occupied by anchor stores are not only attached but owned separately. To make major changes in the mall, agreements must be obtained from the other owners.

The result of a recent auction for the former Sears anchor space, vacant since 2021, has not been disclosed. A broker involved in the auction did not return a call seeking comment.

The town of Manchester, where the mall is its second largest taxpayer, sees potential in both the mall’s location near the intersection of I-84 and I-91 and the vast expanse of surface parking that could accommodate new uses.

“We have seen throughout the country, repurposing and redeveloping of mall properties similar — very similar to this,” Gary Anderson, Manchester’s director of planning and economic development, said. “We feel there is a lot of opportunity there for someone who has a vision for the property.”

The town’s recently completed plan of conservation and development, Manchester Next , includes possible ideas for future development.

They include smaller storefronts attached to blank exterior walls to enhance the mall’s attractiveness; the addition of multi-family dwellings and mixed-use buildings; a track-and-field venue behind the mall to attract sports tournaments; and land to the rear of the mall is dedicated for local food production

‘Hard line to play’

Other malls in Connecticut are focused on building visitor foot traffic by moving to non-traditional uses. For example, the 27-court pickleball complex at Stamford Town Center is effectively an anchor, right alongside Macy’s and Barnes and Noble.

Housing is another option being pursued by mall owners. At the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, an ambitious plan for 750 apartments is still active, a mall spokesperson said, but an update is not expected until next year.

One challenge malls still face going into the future is the role of teenagers. This age group traditionally has been a major contributor to foot traffic, but incidents of fights and gun violence has some mall owners cracking down.

“They really didn’t want these teenagers causing trouble in the malls,” Patrice Luoma, professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, said. The malls “haven’t been as welcoming to that crowd as they were in the past. But then, it’s going to be overrun with teens, and adults aren’t going to want to go there either. So, it’s a hard line to play.”

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com .