Kensington and Lewis Avenues
Meriden, Connecticut
In August 1967, plans were announced for one of South Central Connecticut's first major enclosed shopping malls. A 62-acre section of farmland, located 15.3 miles southwest of center city Hartford, had been acquired by St. Louis-based May Centers. Within the bedroom community of Meriden, the land parcel had previously been utilized as the Connecticut School for Boys. The site was accessed by the State Route 66 expressway (later co-designated as Interstate 691), which opened to traffic August 30, 1971.
Seattle's John Graham, Junior was hired to design the 2-level MERIDEN SQUARE mall. On the south end was a 2-level (155,000 square foot), Harftford-based G. Fox. This store became the mall's first operational tenant on August 31, 1971. The MERIDEN SQUARE G. Fox was the third branch in the chain. It followed a NAUGATUCK VALLEY MALL store (dedicated on August 31, 1969) and another at ENFIELD SQUARE (which made its debut an March 2, 1971).
The exterior of the MERIDEN SQUARE G. Fox was done in rose-colored custom brick with an imbedded fern design. Its interior had a full spectrum of light pastels, with "modernistic" prints and patterns. There were twenty-one fashion departments on the first level and home and outdoor furnishings, as well as a restaurant, on the second.
The official dedication of the mall proper, which was originally planned to coincide with the grand opening of G. Fox, was delayed by a labor dispute. The ceremony, officiated by Meriden Mayor Robert A. Schultz, was held on October 19, 1971. The Reliance Brass Band played as thirty-one stores opened in unison. Among these were Baker's Shoes, Barricini Candy, CVS, Chess King, Music City, Child World and Waldenbooks.
The fully-enclosed mallway consisted of 2 levels that were linked by a Goodyear Speedwalk Speedramp, similar to a previous installation at May Centers' MISSION VALLEY CENTER in San Diego. The 2-way, rubber ribbon ramp extended for 80 feet. Unlike a standard escalator, it transported baggage, wheelchairs and strollers. A trip between the first and second mall levels took just 58 seconds.
Landscaping in the common area was done with Indian Laurel, Australian Kentia Palms, Banyan Trees, Costa Rican Parlor Palms, Crotons, Dracena Marginatas and Ficus trees. The "all-weather shopping world" featured thirteen Geodesic dome skylights, with a 40-foot-diameter fixture illuminating Center Court.
The final store to open in the first phase shopping center was a 3-level (175,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. Anchoring the north end of MERIDEN SQUARE, it was designed by the Law Company of Wichita, Kansas and dedicated April 6, 1972. A freestanding Penney's Auto Center stood in the northeast parking area. May Centers morphed into CenterMark Properties in 1972.
With the completion of Penney's, MERIDEN SQUARE enveloped 580,000 leasable square feet and contained fifty stores and services. Shopping centers in its vicinity included BRISTOL CENTRE MALL (1969-2008) {10.8 miles northwest, in center city Bristol}, NAUGATUCK VALLEY MALL (1969-1999) {10.2 miles west, in Waterbury}, MERIDEN MALL (1970-2006) {.8 miles southeast, also in Meriden} and -eventually- BRASS MILL CENTER (1997) {11.3 miles west, also in Waterbury}.
MERIDEN SQUARE was given a 5.1 million dollar face lift between August 1987 and August 1988. A larger skylight was placed over Center Court, with a glass-enclosed elevator and escalators replacing the Speedramp. Moreover, neon lighting, tile flooring, landscaping and new entrances were added.
May Centers entered into a joint venture with Chicago-based Homart Development. In July 1989, a 60 million dollar renovation was announced. The prospective expansion would add a 2-level (120,000 square foot) Sears, which would anchor a 2-level East Wing.
The local government did not give their stamp of approval until April 1991. Construction commenced in May. Forty-two new stores opened on March 3, 1993. These included the aforementioned Sears, as well as Eddie Bauer, Victoria's Secret, B. Dalton Bookseller, GNC, Lane Bryant and the 11-bay Cafe Square Food Court.
On February 1, 1993, G. Fox had been rebranded by Boston-based Filene's. They initiated a renovation and expansion of the store in April. When completed in late 1994, the building encompassed 205,000 square feet. MERIDEN SQUARE now enveloped 910,000 leasable square feet, with a tenant list of eighty-seven stores and services.
Meanwhile, MERIDEN SQUARE was one of nineteen CentreMark properties sold to a joint venture in November 1993. The group included Australia's Westfield, Des Moines' General Growth Properties and New York City's Whitehall Street Real Estate Limited Partnership. The joint venture divided up management of the malls, with Westfield's share including MERIDEN. In June 1996, Westfield established full ownership of the CentreMark portfolio. In November 1998, the shopping hub was rebranded as WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN MERIDEN.
A third renovation had been formally announced in December 1997. A single-level West Wing would connect with the upper level of the mall. It would be anchored by a 1-level (90,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor, house thirty-eight inline stores and include a multilevel parking garage. The 170,000 square foot expansion was dedicated on August 31, 1999.
WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN MERIDEN now encompassed 1,080,000 leasable square feet and contained 125 tenant spaces. However, its Lord & Taylor proved to be short-lived. The store was shuttered in January 2004. The vacant area, and a portion of adjoining space, was rebuilt into three big box stores. Dick's Sporting Goods and Best Buy held grand openings November 4, 2004. Borders Books was dedicated November 11, 2006.
In September of the same year, Filene's stores had been "Macy-ated." The mall's lengthy moniker had also been shortened to WESTFIELD MERIDEN in June 2005. J.C. Penney announced closings of thirty-three mall-based stores in January 2014. The WESTFIELD MERIDEN location, a 1972 charter anchor, shut down May 3rd. Reading, Pennsylvania-based Boscov's renovated and expanded the building. Adjacent inline space on Level 1 was incorporated into the new store, which now encompassed 190,000 square feet. The new Boscov's opened on October 8, 2015.
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. Westfield shopping centers in Australia and New Zealand were not included in the merger. URW intends to liquidate all of its Westfield American mall portfolio. Toward this end, they sold the mall in Meriden to a joint venture of Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management in June of 2020.
Sources:
The Morning Record (Meriden, Connecticut)
The Record-Journal (Meriden, Connecticut)
A third renovation had been formally announced in December 1997. A single-level West Wing would connect with the upper level of the mall. It would be anchored by a 1-level (90,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor, house thirty-eight inline stores and include a multilevel parking garage. The 170,000 square foot expansion was dedicated on August 31, 1999.
WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN MERIDEN now encompassed 1,080,000 leasable square feet and contained 125 tenant spaces. However, its Lord & Taylor proved to be short-lived. The store was shuttered in January 2004. The vacant area, and a portion of adjoining space, was rebuilt into three big box stores. Dick's Sporting Goods and Best Buy held grand openings November 4, 2004. Borders Books was dedicated November 11, 2006.
In September of the same year, Filene's stores had been "Macy-ated." The mall's lengthy moniker had also been shortened to WESTFIELD MERIDEN in June 2005. J.C. Penney announced closings of thirty-three mall-based stores in January 2014. The WESTFIELD MERIDEN location, a 1972 charter anchor, shut down May 3rd. Reading, Pennsylvania-based Boscov's renovated and expanded the building. Adjacent inline space on Level 1 was incorporated into the new store, which now encompassed 190,000 square feet. The new Boscov's opened on October 8, 2015.
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. Westfield shopping centers in Australia and New Zealand were not included in the merger. URW intends to liquidate all of its Westfield American mall portfolio. Toward this end, they sold the mall in Meriden to a joint venture of Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management in June of 2020.
The Morning Record (Meriden, Connecticut)
The Record-Journal (Meriden, Connecticut)
The Meriden Journal
www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
www.westfield.com / The Westfield Group
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www.reuters.com
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