Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1493843
18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | March 6, 2023 Second Acts? As Enfield officials mull struggling mall's future, former MassMutual campus could see new life By Hanna Snyder Gambini hgambini@hartfordbusiness.com E nfield leaders continue to grapple with the uncertain future of the town's sprawling mall property, just as a promising new vision for the vacant MassMutual campus has shed light on the town's broader economic development aspirations. The Capitol Region Council of Governments recently launched a traffic study of more than a dozen intersections around the 548,683-square-foot Enfield Square mall along routes 190 and 220. potential for mixed-use multifamily residential development at the mall property. The area, which includes numerous buildings subdivided into more than a dozen parcels, could absorb 138 new rental units and 20 to 30 condos annually over five years, according to the study, which even laid out a first- phase, two-year development plan for 276 apartments and 60 condos. One major roadblock to revitalizing the struggling property, a town official said, is that it's under the private ownership of New York-based Namdar Realty Group, which has a history of buying distressed malls. Namdar and New York-based Mason Asset Management purchased Enfield Square at auction in 2018 for $11.4 million. The mall had lost anchor tenants Sears and Macy's leading up to the sale. Just over a decade earlier the mall traded hands for $82 million in 2006, town records show. In March 2021, Namdar sold the mall's anchor Target store property for $8.9 million to a New York City investor. Enfield Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said she and other Nelson Tereso, Enfield's director of economic and community development, said the study is not meant to serve as a master plan for the Elm Street mall. Instead, it's a needs and options assessment for any future development. Town officials are hoping a second act is on the horizon for the Enfield Square mall, a once-vibrant northern Connecticut retail center now plagued by hundreds of thousands of square feet of vacant space. A 2021 market analysis by New York economic development consulting firm Camoin Associates concluded there is significant town leaders have been hearing persistent yet unverified rumors of an imminent mall sale, which could lead to a new redevelopment partnership. Namdar, which also owns Connecticut malls in Meriden and Trumbull, didn't return calls and emails seeking comment. The perimeter around Enfield mall is showing signs of life after a few parcels have landed new tenants, including a Popeye's Chicken fast- food restaurant and Starbucks. The vacant Outback Steakhouse property at 98 Elm St. is being targeted for a recreational cannabis dispensary, Zoppo-Sassu said. "There are percolating projects that will be really good in the long run, but with the mall in the middle, the centerpiece is dormant," she said. In the shifting retail market, large commercial centers like malls "have become a very difficult entity to manage," she said. 'Weak malls die off' David Cadden, professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University's Department of Entrepreneurship and Strategy, said retail forecasting shows that of the roughly 1,000 Enfield economic development director Nelson Tereso (left), Mayor Robert Cressotti and Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu stand in front of the Enfield Square mall, which has significant vacancies. HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Above is the leasing plan for the Enfield Square mall, which shows significant vacancies across the property.