In former CT grocery store, a plan to bring trampolines, slides, dodgeball and more

Sky Zone, a national franchiser of trampoline parks, is looking to open a third Connecticut location by remodeling a former supermarket in Newington .

Ayesha Afzal is the managing partner of a franchise group that wants to open a 33,000-square-foot trampoline and adventure park in the Lowrey Place building that once housed Best Market.

Sky Zone, which operates in Trumbull and Norwalk , announced in the winter that it was going to open a Hartford location . But that plan didn’t advance, and now the Newington property will be considered the chain’s Greater Hartford location, Afzal said Wednesday.

“We are hoping to have it ready in the first quarter of 2025. We want to have the latest and newest attractions, friendly attendants, and we want it to be very clean,” Afzal said. “I will be managing it, and it was important to me when my children were little that a place be very clean.”

The will be the first Sky Zone operation for Afzal, a Brooklyn, N.Y., resident, who has family in Bristol and Glastonbury. She is heading a partnership that includes her husband, two brothers and a cousin.

“Our goal is to get a good start in Newington and then grow,” she said, adding that ultimately the partners would like to operate numerous Sky Zones across New England.

“The build-out will transform the space to include multiple trampoline areas, basketball and dodgeball courts, a cafe, party rooms, an arcade and more,” according to her application to the Town Plan and Zoning Commission.

Commissioners plan to schedule a hearing on her request for zoning permits later this summer, most likely on Aug .14.

The application states that the franchise partners are investing a little more than $3.8 million in a makeover of the former supermarket as well as installation of equipment.

A Sky Zone had operated in Bethel for five years before closing in 2019; that franchisee opened another location in Norwalk that is still operating. The chain also has a smaller operation a few blocks off Main Street in Trumbull.

Globally, Sky Zone reports having more than 300 locations. In the United States, it operates in most of the United States, with concentrations in and around Chicago, Atlanta, San Jose several other large cities.

Sky Zone’s typical locations draw 60,000 to 80,000 visitors a year, which would benefit the nearby commercial plaza, Afzal said.

“We believe Sky Zone would complement the current tenant mix very well and help attract other businesses to fill vacancies,” she wrote. “Additionally, this new Sky Zone park will contribute to the local economy of Newington by creating jobs and hiring upwards of 60 employees.”

The franchise partnership has signed a letter of intent with the landlord to lease the space for 10 years followed by two five-year renewal options, she said.

Sky Zone’s corporate promotional materials contend the company’s parks outdraw Disneyland, the Six Flag amusement park chain, the NFL and the NBA for annual attendance.

The chain started in 2004 with a single location, and this year is opening well more than a dozen new parks. It operates one in Rhode Island and another in New Hampshire, along with three in Massachusetts. Maine and Vermont have none.