[ryanthegoldengod]

Originally Posted by basehead617

I find it amusing when people talk about the clientele of a mall going downhill and being filled with groups of teenagers etc.
I'm pretty sure malls have always been filled with groups of teenagers and the only thing changing is you've gone from being one of them to being one of the adults that were annoyed at the kids in the mall the same way people were annoyed at us.

Then there's the other implied meaning of "downhill" which we don't even need to get into.

Bingo.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Does anyone think Stamford Town Center will close if the So No Shops get built? Jay

Did the Gallaria close when The Westchester was built?


Revenue might drop but I seriously doubt Stamford will close.

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by Cambium

Did the Gallaria close when The Westchester was built?

It did not close but it was on the verge of......The Westchester put a huge dent into The Galleria at the time it opened ......but The Westchester is more upscale stores and overall a much better mall. I remember when The Galleria was first built and it was a really great mall........these days you would not want to shop in there. Low end stores......mall full of gangster thugs.....a lot of crime in the parking levels has happened over the years including 2 murders.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Does anyone think Stamford Town Center will close if the So No Shops get built? Jay

No way. There are apartment buildings going up all over downtown Stamford which are walkable to the mall. The young people moving into Stamford (I presume many from NYC) like the fact they can walk to shopping. I only see the Stamford Mall getting more business. When I go visit friends and relatives in Stamford I often park in the mall and walk around. The entire hustle and bustle vibe continues to amaze me.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

It did not close but it was on the verge of......The Westchester put a huge dent into The Galleria at the time it opened ......but The Westchester is more upscale stores and overall a much better mall. I remember when The Galleria was first built and it was a really great mall........these days you would not want to shop in there. Low end stores......mall full of gangster thugs.....a lot of crime in the parking levels has happened over the years including 2 murders.

Oh yeah, totally agree. I used to go there for the candy store Oola I believe? Lolol. Also a good music store they had with cassette tapes. Whoops.
Surprised they are still around actually.

New Rochelle Mall used to be cool back in the day. They had shut down. Finally after many yrs decided to rebuild and make more modern

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by Cambium

Oh yeah, totally agree. I used to go there for the candy store Oola I believe? Lolol. Also a good music store they had with cassette tapes. Whoops.

No whoops......I think we are around the same age.....I used to go there for cassettes and vinyl too....They Musicland on the top floor and Sam Goody on the bottom floor.....It was a really nice and modern mall back then.

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Does anyone think Stamford Town Center will close if the So No Shops get built? Jay

Anything can happen, but I doubt it.

Stamford is booming with young people flush with cash (or a credit card or two), they are moving into downtown and surrounding areas, and that makes the mall ground zero.

There's also a large workforce in the surrounding office buildings that produces a decent amount of foot traffic, even if its mostly for its restaurants.

Also, the increasing congestion of I-95 makes going to Norwalk quite a chore more often than not. A person can always take the train, but imagine returning home with all those shopping bags. Its just not practical. For people that live in Darien/New Canaan, access to SoNo may not be much of an issue, especially if they know the backroads. For people in Greenwich access to SoNo gets complicated because of I-95's parking lot syndrome.

STC definitely needs to upgrade, because SoNo is promising to be a much more attractive mall from an aesthetics perspective. That does affect the bottom line of both, the nicer mall and the not as nice ones nearby.

If anything, I guess STC can always expand into the hole across the street and build a modern 'wing' that would compete with SoNo in aesthetics. It will increase the size of STC and give the mall a chance to add more variety of stores and maybe even a new department store. They could make it a mixed use project with residential towers on top and at least one covered pedestrian bridge to connect with the current STC.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by basehead617

I find it amusing when people talk about the clientele of a mall going downhill and being filled with groups of teenagers etc.
I'm pretty sure malls have always been filled with groups of teenagers and the only thing changing is you've gone from being one of them to being one of the adults that were annoyed at the kids in the mall the same way people were annoyed at us.

Then there's the other implied meaning of "downhill" which we don't even need to get into.

I'm not sure what you're implying with that last sentence, but if it's what I think, then you're out of line.

Clientele of a mall can make or break a shopping experience. Last time I visited, just to enter the mall, I had to drag my family through a group of obnoxious teenagers blowing cigarette and vape "smoke" into the path of anyone who walks through. While we were there, we saw four police officers running toward the food court, where a fight broke out between two groups. I struck up a conversation with the Verizon employee, who said this happens almost every weekend. He also mentioned their employees have had their vehicles entered/broken into several times in the past year.

Teenagers being teenagers is a lot different than the rude and nasty people I experienced at the Meriden mall. Let's not make dramatic assumptions about other's experiences.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

No whoops......I think we are around the same age.....I used to go there for cassettes and vinyl too....They Musicland on the top floor and Sam Goody on the bottom floor.....It was a really nice and modern mall back then.

Wow, good memory! Musicland that's right! They used to have the Micmac freestyle/dance records I always looked for.. Nice flashback. Ahhhh, the Vinyl, I miss my crates of them.


Ok, now I wanna go to a Mall. lol

[Stylo]

Whenever I unfortunately have to trek into CT Post, the entire front lot always seems to be nearly full. The closing of the big retail stores is predictable. That's a big challenge for all malls. I would bet CT Post replaces JCP with a few stores, or even something non-retail (like a large restaurant or something recreational). Sears in Danbury was downsized and a Primark moved in. The old Filenes is now several retailers and restaurants. That's smart evolution.

Problem with CT Post is its sheer size. It's the largest in CT and the area has even more retail than Danbury. So they have to find smart ways to reduce retail footprint. LA Fitness was a first step. Anecdotally, the Banana Republic in the Whole Foods plaza down the street is always pretty busy. Would that be the case in the mall?

Are there any case studies of converting parts of an active mall into residential?