Brass Mill Center is a shopping mall located in Waterbury, Connecticut. The mall and its accompanying complex, the Brass Mill Commons, cost $160 million to build. At 1,180,000 square feet (110,000 m2), it is Connecticut's fifth largest mall, containing over 130 shops. It is located off Interstate 84 in Waterbury, Connecticut. The mall features the traditional retailers JCPenney, Burlington, Ashley Outlet and Shoppers World.
 | |
 Exterior view of Brass Mill Center, April 2018 | |
 | |
| Location | Waterbury, Connecticut, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°32′57″N 73°01′30″W / 41.549251°N 73.024986°W |
| Address | 495 Union Street |
| Opening date | September 17th 1997 |
| Developer | General Growth Properties[1] |
| Management | Tony Guerriero |
| Owner | Kohan Retail Investment Group Summit Properties USA |
| No. of stores and services | 130 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,179,569 sq ft (109,586 m2)[2][3] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 5800 spaces |
| Public transit access |   422, 431 |
| Website | brassmillcenter |
History
editThe Brass Mill Center opened on Wednesday September 17th, 1997. It comprises two floors, as well as a previously closed partial third floor belonging to a 12-screen Regal Cinemas.[4] It has since reopened as Apple Cinemas.
Before construction began, 118,000 tons of contaminated soil and 63 vacant and deteriorated buildings were removed from the site. The construction of Brass Mill Center essentially replaced the older Naugatuck Valley Mall, built in 1969 and located on the city's northeast suburban side. In the process, the Filene's (originally a G. Fox & Co. store) and the Sears stores relocated to Brass Mill Center. Naugautuck Valley Mall was demolished in spring 1999. Lechmere was originally planned as the fourth anchor,[5] but it never opened due to parent company Montgomery Ward closing the chain in 1997, the same year the mall opened.[6]
Numerous former tenants include Shaw’s Supermarket, Steve & Barry's, Hometown Buffet and OfficeMax, which closed in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2014 respectively.[7][8]
IHOP opened at the mall in December 2010.[9]
On January 12, 2011, Save-A-Lot would open in the former Shaw's.[10]
During the summer of 2017, Five Below and Ulta Beauty opened in the space formerly occupied by OfficeMax.
The beginning of the 2020s saw several storied traditional department store retailers update their brick-and-mortar formats after being encroached upon to a degree by several digital retailers in recent years.
On June 7, 2018, it was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.[11]
On January 6, 2021, Macy's announced after a strategy had been implemented by them to solely focus on their highest achieving outposts that they had selected against staying on at the shopping center.[12]
On April 19, 2022, Kohan Retail Investment Group acquired Brass Mill Center for $44.9 million.[13]
On September 26, 2022, it was announced that Regal Cinemas would be ending its lease as a result of restructuring its established long-term debt due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Numerous theater chain operators are in the midst of early on discussions.[14]
In December 2023, it was announced that Ashley HomeStore would open an outlet store in a portion of the old Macy's store, which would open later that month.[15]
In February 2024, it was announced that Apple Cinemas would replace the old Regal Cinemas space and operate a new theater in the space with a _target opening date of April 2024. Apple Cinemas has one other location in Waterbury located in Wolcott Street, which will not be affected by the new theater's opening.[16]
That same year, TJ Maxx moved out of Brass Mill Commons.
Michaels will close its location on January 16, 2025.
References
edit- ^ KAUFFMAN, MATTHEW. "WATERBURY MALL'S DEBUT A CROWD PLEASER". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ "Leasing Opportunities". Archived from the original on 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
- ^ "Retail Space for Lease in Waterbury, CT | Brass Mill Center". www.brookfieldpropertiesretail.com. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ "Brass Mill Center opens". 1997-09-17. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
- ^ Charles, Eleanor (March 19, 1995). "In the Region/Connecticut; Historic Brass Mill Giving Way to a Waterbury Mall" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Record-Journal - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ "Hometown Buffet restaurant closed at Waterbury site". 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
- ^ "OfficeMax store is closing". 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
- ^ "IHOP returns to Waterbury, in Brass Mill Center mall".
- ^ {{Cite web}|url=https://archives.rep-am.com/2011/01/12/save-a-lot-_targeted-for-brass-mill-space-vacated-by-shaws/%7Ctitle=Save-A-Lot _targeted for Brass Mill space vacated by Shaw's|date=2011-01-12|access-date=2023-01-13}}
- ^ "Waterbury Sears closing". Archived from the original on 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
- ^ Thomas, Lauren; Rattner, Nate (2021-01-06). "Macy's is closing dozens of stores this year. Here's the full list". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ Puffer, Michael (April 20, 2022). "Waterbury mall and neighboring shopping center sells for $44.9M". Hartford Business Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
- ^ "Regal Cinemas closes at Brass Mill Center in Waterbury". 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
- ^ "Ashley furniture outlet to open in Waterbury mall". CT Insider. December 7, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ "Movie theater returns to Brass Mill Center in Waterbury this spring". CT Insider. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.