Merritt Parkway and Main Street
Trumbull, Connecticut
Construction commenced on the Nutmeg State's first fully-enclosed shopping mall in September 1962. TRUMBULL SHOPPING PARK was built on a 66-acre site, located 6.7 miles northwest of downtown Bridgeport, in the bedroom community of Trumbull.
Developed by Connecticut's Jack Frouge, the 2-level retail facility encompassed approximately 750,000 leasable square feet and housed fifty-seven stores and services. At its north end was a 3-level (243,000 square foot) E.J. Korvette discount mart. This store held its grand opening November 20, 1963. There was a Korvettes Food Center on its lower level, as well as an adjacent Korvettes Furniture & Carpet store.
Charter mall tenants included Moony's Sporting Goods, Thom McAn Shoes, Lofts Candy, Marcelino's Barber Shop, Stuarts Ladies' Ready-to-Wear, Arthur's For Men, Miles Shoes, Bond Clothes, a 2-level F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and the first SupeRx Drugs in New England. These stores were in operation by June 1964.
The south end of the complex was anchored by a 3-level (220,000 square foot), Bridgeport-based D.M. Read, which was dedicated September 12, 1964. The mall's parking area included a kiddie ride area and freestanding United Artists Trumbull Theatre. This venue showed its first feature in December 1965.
Commercial competition in the early years was provided by CONNECTICUT POST CENTER (1960) {9.7 miles east, in Milford} and HAWLEY LANE MALL (1970) {3.7 miles east, in Trumbull}. DANBURY FAIR {16.5 miles northwest, in Danbury} opened in 1987.
The first expansion of TRUMBULL SHOPPING PARK was done in the early 1970s, when a 2-level, north-south corridor was added to the east-facing facade. In 1977, TRUMBULL SHOPPING PARK was acquired by Australia's Westfield (the precursor of today's Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield), becoming the first shopping mall in the United States owned by that company.
Westfield did an interior renovation, using a nostalgic Antique Americana theme. Several vintage relics were acquired, such as gas street lamps, church pews, weathered beams, posts and an antique horse carriage. A stairway connecting the Upper and Lower Malls featured railing from the Vanderbuilt mansion on Long Island.
Moreover, state flags were hung from the ceiling of the "Constitution Mall," accented by hand-carved state seals and portraits of United States Presidents. Several stores were also retro-remodeled and a large spread of stained glass installed over the mall's Main Entrance. The project was completed in December 1977.
Renovations resumed in the following year. Korvettes was shuttered and converted into a 3-level (201,000 square foot), Hartford-based G. Fox. This store held its grand opening in October 1978. It was rebranded by Boston-based Filene's ["fiy-leenz"] in January 1993.
Meanwhile, a third expansion of TRUMBULL SHOPPING PARK had been built. Its first phase, a multilevel parking garage, was constructed at the mall's southwest corner and was completed in December 1985. Phase Two added a 2-story West Wing, anchored by a 2-level (154,800 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store held its grand opening May 6, 1987.
Later in 1987, Read's was merged with another Allied Stores division, Boston-based Jordan Marsh. The "Jordan's" at TRUMBULL SHOPPING PARK morphed into a New York City-based Abraham & Straus in April 1992 and was "Macy-ated" in April 1995. A fourth mall expansion had been done in 1992-1993. This East Wing project added eleven inline stores and a 2-level (114,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor.
By 1996, the mall's official name had been changed to WESTFIELD SHOPPING PARK. A second parking structure, and freestanding (35,000 square foot) Circuit City, were built in the northeast corner of the site. With these additions, the complex encompassed 1,196,000 leasable square feet and housed over 150 stores and services.
On November 21, 1998, the name of the complex was changed to WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN TRUMBULL. This would be truncated to WESTFIELD TRUMBULL in June 2005. However, whatever official name was bestowed, locals continued to refer to the retail hub as the "Trumbull Mall". With the dissolution of Filene's in September 2006, Macy's moved from the south anchor space at WESTFIELD TRUMBULL into the north. The old Read's building was demolished in 2007. It was replaced by a 2-level (190,000 square foot) Target, which was officially dedicated on October 12, 2008.
The new discount store was the first stage of a major renovation. A 35 million dollar face lift commenced in the fall of 2009. It included new interior decor, flooring, skylights, an 11-bay "Dining Terrace" and remodeled Main Entrance. A re-dedication was held on November 19, 2010.
Meanwhile, LA Fitness had moved into a vacant Circuit City. Inside the mall, Swedish specialty retailer H & M opened in May 2011. The Japanese Uniqlo chain dedicated their WESTFIELD TRUMBULL store in November 2013. The Cheesecake Factory, also inside the mall, welcomed its first diners in August 2014. The shopping center now spanned approximately 1,130,600 leasable square feet, with a tenant list of 168 stores and services.
Westfield's American and European property portfolio was merged into the holdings of Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco in June 2018. A new company, known as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was created. URW sold the "Trumbull Mall" in January 2023. The new proprietor was a joint venture of Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management.
The Hour (Hartford, Connecticut)
The Bridgeport Post (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
The Stamford Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut)
Allied Stores Corporation Annual Report 1964
http://patch.com
http://patch.com
www.reuters.com
The Caldor Rainbow / Nicholas Dimaio webmaster / "Westfield Trumbull" article and posts
www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
"Westfield Trumbull" article on Wikipedia
The Caldor Rainbow / Nicholas Dimaio webmaster / "Westfield Trumbull" article and posts
www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
"Westfield Trumbull" article on Wikipedia