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STAMFORD — Clothing retailer H&M has closed its store at Stamford Town Center and shoe seller Clarks is in the process of leaving — a pair of departures linked to those companies’ establishments at the new SoNo Collection mall in Norwalk.
H&M’s exit this week after a 12-year stay deals a major blow to the embattled downtown mall, since the Swedish “fast-fashion” specialist has occupied one of the shopping center’s anchor storefronts. Now, white boards cover the fifth-floor store’s front windows, and a white partition, with a panel door, has replaced the entrance.
Stamford Town Center owner Taubman Centers confirmed the departure Thursday and said H&M had wound down sales last Saturday.
A message left Thursday for H&M was not immediately returned. Its nearest store for Stamford-based customers is now 8 miles east at SoNo Collection.
Two other fifth-level tenants at Stamford Town Center are closing and holding clear-out sales.
The United Kingdom-based Clarks is set to close its store on Sunday, after operating at the mall for nearly nine years . It confirmed with a sign in its front window that its store at SoNo Collection was the replacement for its Stamford shop.
A few doors down, Japan-based casual clothier Uniqlo has posted a sign announcing its Jan. 19 departure, which will culminate a nearly six-year run at the mall.
In addition, Boost Mobile has closed its store on the fourth floor — at least temporarily, after it opened last June. A spokeswoman for Sprint, which owns the prepaid-service brand, said the company was looking for a new owner for the location.
A Sprint store still operates a few doors down from the former Boost spot.
Before the latest round of closings, the for-sale Stamford Town Center had already grappled with a number of recent exits.
Among them, a Pandora Jewelry store closed last October, as it opened a location at SoNo Collection.
Other departures last year at the Stamford mall included J. Crew, Armani Exchange, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Gymboree, Payless ShoeSource, The Walking Co., Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.
On its restaurant row, Kona Grill closed last April. That space is still vacant.
At the same time, the mall has partially offset the departures with a number of openings in the past year.
Newcomers in the past few weeks included Luggage and Bags and Kilim Design, a seller of Turkish rugs and housewares.
Last year also saw the openings of a showroom for Hyundai’s Genesis luxury-car brand; a Crystal’s Fun Spot children’s play center; menswear retailer Zane; Perfume World; sports merchandiser The Sports Fan; mobile-device repair-and-accessory shop The Fix; custom-apparel store Concept Design; Custom Candle Co., and Sasha, a hosiery-and-shapewear seller.
Upcoming arrivals include a Fun Palace play center, a couple of doors down from the H&M storefront.
The mall’s three other anchor storefronts are still filled by Barnes & Noble, Macy’s and Saks Off 5th.
STAMFORD — Clothing retailer H&M has closed its store at Stamford Town Center and shoe seller Clarks is in the process of leaving — a pair of departures linked to those companies’ establishments at the new SoNo Collection mall in Norwalk.
H&M’s exit this week after a 12-year stay deals a major blow to the embattled downtown mall, since the Swedish “fast-fashion” specialist has occupied one of the shopping center’s anchor storefronts. Now, white boards cover the fifth-floor store’s front windows, and a white partition, with a panel door, has replaced the entrance.
Stamford Town Center owner Taubman Centers confirmed the departure Thursday and said H&M had wound down sales last Saturday.
A message left Thursday for H&M was not immediately returned. Its nearest store for Stamford-based customers is now 8 miles east at SoNo Collection.
Two other fifth-level tenants at Stamford Town Center are closing and holding clear-out sales.
The United Kingdom-based Clarks is set to close its store on Sunday, after operating at the mall for nearly nine years . It confirmed with a sign in its front window that its store at SoNo Collection was the replacement for its Stamford shop.
A few doors down, Japan-based casual clothier Uniqlo has posted a sign announcing its Jan. 19 departure, which will culminate a nearly six-year run at the mall.
In addition, Boost Mobile has closed its store on the fourth floor — at least temporarily, after it opened last June. A spokeswoman for Sprint, which owns the prepaid-service brand, said the company was looking for a new owner for the location.
A Sprint store still operates a few doors down from the former Boost spot.
Before the latest round of closings, the for-sale Stamford Town Center had already grappled with a number of recent exits.
Among them, a Pandora Jewelry store closed last October, as it opened a location at SoNo Collection.
Other departures last year at the Stamford mall included J. Crew, Armani Exchange, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Gymboree, Payless ShoeSource, The Walking Co., Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.
On its restaurant row, Kona Grill closed last April. That space is still vacant.
At the same time, the mall has partially offset the departures with a number of openings in the past year.
Newcomers in the past few weeks included Luggage and Bags and Kilim Design, a seller of Turkish rugs and housewares.
Last year also saw the openings of a showroom for Hyundai’s Genesis luxury-car brand; a Crystal’s Fun Spot children’s play center; menswear retailer Zane; Perfume World; sports merchandiser The Sports Fan; mobile-device repair-and-accessory shop The Fix; custom-apparel store Concept Design; Custom Candle Co., and Sasha, a hosiery-and-shapewear seller.
Upcoming arrivals include a Fun Palace play center, a couple of doors down from the H&M storefront.
The mall’s three other anchor storefronts are still filled by Barnes & Noble, Macy’s and Saks Off 5th.
Adding another mall to the region was a really dumb choice.
Probably, in the long run.
Folks around here seem to love the new mall so far, lots of rave reviews. The kids are loving this Camp store. I think Apple is moving over from Stamford next. They do say though the foot traffic seems low. I've only been once when first open. Fam and friends, acquaintances have been a few times. Key takeaway is low foot traffic, but they are forever done with Trumbull and Milford Malls at this point, especially given the Mallmania events held at those facilities.
A good friend in retail management in Westport Center said this past holiday season was pitiful there. The slowest in years. Traffic down across the board for many stores. Same story for New Canaan center but that was from second-hand hearsay, don't quote me.
I believe brick and mortar retail is entering the early death throe stages.
A good friend in retail management in Westport Center said this past holiday season was pitiful there. The slowest in years. Traffic down across the board for many stores. Same story for New Canaan center but that was from second-hand hearsay, don't quote me.
I believe brick and mortar retail is entering the early death throe stages.
Westport retail I know was down for sure, however Greenwich's was up. Dont know about New Canaan or Darien though.
Location: Removing a snake out of the neighbor's washing machine
3,095 posts, read 2,040,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Connetquoter
Bob's furniture is moving out too from Stamford to Norwalk for a bigger and cheaper place, erstwhile Toys r Us on Connecticut ave.
Looks like the Sono Collection kicked off a exodus from Stamford to Norwalk.
Bobs was originally in Norwalk, on Cross St. They outdid themselves with their new(in 2000) two level Stsmford store, and closed Norwalk. Now they are moving back to cheaper pastures.
More bike lanes, greenways in Stamford’s future — but no convention center
STAMFORD — Every 10 years or so, the city lays out its vision for the future in a master plan.
Among these plans are a set of ambitious goals and projects, including some that never see the light of day. Stamford’s 2015-25 Master Plan, rife with a plethora of ideas, calls for enhancing “the vitality of the downtown and adjacent neighborhoods” and addressing “crucial circulation and mobility needs.”
From establishing a park & ride from the Merritt Parkway in the north to the city’s downtown area to redesigning Tresser Boulevard as more pedestrian friendly, the master plan presented policy recommendations on how to make Stamford a more inclusive city and maintaining high-intensity development downtown.
With a limited budget and priorities, the city has focused on some recommendations, as others remain on the wayside.
Among the more zealous endeavors include establishing a convention center in the downtown, making up for the city’s dearth of bike lanes and investing in a continuous greenway that would connect Scalzi Park all the way down to Kosciuszko Park in the South End.
Convention center
One of the key projects the current master plan outlined was exploring the feasibility of a convention center in downtown Stamford.
A convention center would bolster downtown activity and showcase the city’s retail, restaurants and hotels, according to the plan. “Stamford is strategically located as a convention destination on I-95 and the Northeast Corridor rail line and could provide an attractive and more affordable convention alternative to New York City,” the plan spells out.
The city’s very first master plan — established in 1926 — called for a “civic center” to be built downtown, but that idea never quite materialized. Nearly a century later, it appears that concept will remain buried.
Land Use Bureau Chief Ralph Blessing said that while the city would consider a developer’s pitch to build a convention center, these buildings are simply not as desirable as they were years — or decades — ago.
“Convention centers, to a certain degree, are a little bit like retail and are not doing too great,” Blessing said. “Now you have video conferences and you don’t need as many convention centers anymore.”
Director of Economic Development Thomas Madden said he doesn’t expect to have such a structure in the coming years. The economics to support this type of building are not tenable.
The state controls the revenue streams that help offset the costs of running these types of facilities, regardless of what entity actually owns the structure.
“The state has already invested into a convention center in Hartford and the two casinos have invested into large convention spaces,” Madden said. “There is a limited market for conventions in each size category and the state has three facilities to provide space.”
More bike lanes
Previous master plans have delineated strategies to grow the city’s bicycle infrastructure in order to make cycling more attractive to residents and simultaneously reducing reliance on cars, though little has been actually implemented until recently.
In the past three years, Transportation Bureau Chief Jim Travers has sought to bring the concept of “complete streets” — a more inclusive road for all users and vehicles — to the city.
The more bike lanes there are, the more cyclists there will be, the thinking goes.
“(Before 2017) the cycling network primarily consisted of decals on the road,” Travers said. “It does nothing for a cyclist or for their security on the roadway. We’re in the midst of improving that right now.”
Prior to 2017, there were only about 3 miles of bike lanes in the city, according to city traffic engineer Garrett Bolella.
Now, there are just over 11 miles. While most bike lanes in the city run north to south, Bolella said there are plans to connect these with east-to-west pathways. The city is preparing a map outlining all current and future bike lanes.
With road paving efforts scheduled to continue this year, bike lanes will also be added to the future surfaces, Bolella said.
One of the longer stretches of bike lanes is expected to go on High Ridge Road from Bulls Head to the Merritt Parkway, a nearly 3-mile project that would be overseen by the state this year.
“This is a significant section of roadway,” Bolella noted.
Looking to 2025, Bolella said engineers are planning to add an average of 6 miles per year, more than doubling the city’s current bike lane mileage.
Stamford Greenway from Downtown to South End update
A greenway from downtown to the South End
An emphasis on having open space and natural walkways accessible to the public was a priority nearly a century ago when the first master plan was established in 1926 under then-city planner Herbert Swan.
Throughout the years, that concept has turned into laying out a continuous greenway from Scalzi Park all the way down to Kosciuszko Park in the South End, a project that is part of a public-private partnership with the Mill River Park Collaborative.
“There was this idea that there should be this park in the heart of Stamford,” Director of Visitor Experience Nia Rhodes Jackson said, adding that efforts on the project began under then-Mayor Dannel Malloy.
The park was also a place that flooded the downtown and nearby houses constantly. Though a dam was installed, the park was left in a state of neglect.
“The whole idea behind this project was to help the city with the floodplains in the area, and now we’re working on the revitalization of the area and fixing it,” said Mike Stake, director of capital planning.
In July 2007, a master plan for the Mill River Park and Greenway set out a proposed sets of phases to carry out the project. To date, the Mill River Park Collaborative has turned what was asphalt and concrete dam into an actual 12-acre park with a carousel paviolion, skating center and fountain.
“It’s a very ambitious plan, and the one thing is that we have a long way to go,” said Dudley Williams, president and CEO of the collaborative, calling the endeavor a “legacy project.”
To connect Mill River Park to Scalzi Park in the north, the city is planning to install a multi-use pathway. Funding is in place, but officials are still finalizing plans and following state Department of Transportation protocols, said Assistant City Planner Erin McKenna.
Later this spring, the collaborative is planning to break ground for the Whittingham Discovery Center that is expected to have science classrooms, offices and a rooftop for star-gazing.
The next stage for the Mill River Park focuses on revitalizing the park area between Main Street and Richmond Hill, including a full-scale renovation of a playground on the west side of the river. With this phase expected to cost $11 million, funding is provided through a mix of federal, state and private sources.
“We’re finalizing with the city departments right now,” Williams said. “We should start very shortly and are hoping to have this wrapped up hopefully by the end of the summertime.”
Extending the greenway to the South End is still a concept — with challenges like funding, engineering and possible easement acquisitions — but remains the collaborative’s end goal.
“We try for the most part not to do something at the 40 percent level,” Rhodes Jackson said. “We don’t go in and start the project if we can’t really do the project. We try to do the project to the ultimate goal level of the project and that is to have people at the water’s edge.”
All three convention centers that are mentioned are addressing the needs of North of Connecticut. Wonder why the city is mentioning that as a reason for not having a convention center in Stamford. If anything the competition would be whiteplains convention center where something or the other happens always.
Yeah, I’m not sure why they are basing it off of the centers in the northern part of the state. I Always thought the UBS trading floor would be a convention center or the area where Canal, Dock, Market and John street are. South end and downtown are two places I can see a convention center
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More bike lanes, greenways in Stamford’s future — but no convention center
