Westfarms

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Westfarms Mall
Westfarms Mall logo
Westfarms Entrance.jpg
Exterior of main entrance (2018)
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Coordinates41°43′22″N 72°45′48″W / 41.72278°N 72.76333°W / 41.72278; -72.76333
Address91 JIce Blvd, West Hartford, Connecticut, US
Opening dateOctober 1974
DeveloperTaubman Centers
Management
Owner
  • Taubman Centers
  • (Simon Property Group)
No. of stores and services150+
No. of anchor tenants5 (4 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,267,000 square feet (117,700 m2)
No. of floors2 (3 in Macy's)
ParkingFree outdoor and garage parking
Websiteshopwestfarms.com
[1]

Westfarms is a shopping mall on the West Hartford–Farmington town line in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was opened in 1974, expanded in 1982 and 1995–1997, and remodeled in 2008–2009. With 1,267,000 square feet (117,700 m2) of gross leasable area, Westfarms is the third-largest mall in Connecticut. It is located on Route 71, off the I-84 and Route 9 junction and near several open-air shopping plazas. The mall is owned and managed by Taubman Centers, a subsidiary of Simon Property Group.

As of 2021, Westfarms is anchored by department stores J.C. Penney, Macy's in two spaces, and Nordstrom. Previous anchors include department stores Filene's, G. Fox & Co., Lord & Taylor, and Sage-Allen.

History[]

Westfarms opened in 1974, and was anchored by department stores G. Fox & Co., J. C. Penney, and Sage-Allen. The mall was expanded with a new retail wing in 1982, which included a Lord & Taylor store that relocated from Bishops Corner in West Hartford.[2]

Hartford-based G. Fox was acquired by Boston-based Filene's in 1992, and the Westfarms store was rebranded on January 30, 1993.[3] Sage-Allen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992, and closed permanently in 1993.[4] Facing competition from the newer Buckland Hills Mall in nearby Manchester, Taubman began a USD $100-million renovation and expansion of Westfarms in 1995. In the first phase, Filene's and Lord & Taylor were remodeled,[5] and the vacated Sage-Allen space became a Filene's Men's & Home.[6] A four-level parking garage was built in the second phase in 1996,[7] and a new retail wing between J. C. Penney and Lord & Taylor with two additional parking garages was completed in 1997.[5] The wing is anchored by Seattle-based Nordstrom, which opened on September 6, 1997;[8] it is the first Nordstrom in New England and remained their only store in Connecticut until The SoNo Collection in Norwalk opened in 2019.[9]

With the acquisition of The May Department Stores Company (parent company of Filene's and Lord & Taylor) by Federated Department Stores (parent company of New York City-based Macy's) in 2005, the Filene's stores were rebranded as Macy's stores on September 9, 2006.[10]

Westfarms was closed from March 20–May 19, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12] Lord & Taylor parent company Le Tote filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 2, and announced that the Westfarms store would be closing as part of a plan to close 19 stores nationwide. It was later announced that all remaining Lord & Taylor stores would be closing on August 27, and the Westfarms store closed permanently on December 29.[13] The off-price Macy's Backstage store-within-a-store opened inside the main Macy's building on August 8.[14]

Architecture[]

Unlike many enclosed malls, Westfarms does not feature a common-area food court, but some wings of the mall contain several quick service restaurants that are housed in their own storefronts.[15]

Ownership[]

Westfarms was developed, owned, and managed by Bloomfield Hills-based Taubman Centers since opening in 1974. Taubman Centers was acquired by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group on December 29, 2020.[16]

List of anchor stores[]

Name No.
of floors 		Year
opened 		Year
closed 		Notes
Filene's 2 1993 2006 Replaced G. Fox
Filene's Men's & Home 2 1995 2006 Replaced Sage-Allen
G. Fox & Co. 2 1974 1993
J. C. Penney 2 1974 N/A
Lord & Taylor 2 1982 2020
Macy's 3 2006 N/A Replaced Filene's
Macy's Men's & Home 2 2006 N/A Replaced Filene's Men's & Home
Nordstrom 2 1997 N/A First location in Connecticut and New England
Sage-Allen 2 1974 1993

Gallery[]

  • Entrance to Westfarms

  • Apple Store for consumer electronics

  • Nordstrom department store

  • Pandora jewelry store

References[]

  1. ^ "Westfarms" (PDF). Taubman Companies. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  2. ^ The Caldor Rainbow (December 17, 2020). "Lord & Taylor "Last 10 Days" at Westfarms". Flicker. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  3. ^ Seay, Gregory (September 12, 1992). "Landmark G. Fox & Co. to Close". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  4. ^ Hamilton, Robert A. (April 25, 1993). "The View From: Mansfield; With the Loss of an Anchor, a Mall Looks for a Life Preserver". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Segel, Dee (March 1, 1995). "Westfarms to Add Nordstrom in Makeover of Mall". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  6. ^ March 10, 1995. "Filene's Opens Second Westfarms Store". Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Greenwood, Michael (March 4, 1996). "Westfarms Expansion on Track for 1997; 50 New Stores Are Planned". Hartford Coourant. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Kauffman, Matthew (September 6, 1997). "At Nordstrom, a Grand Opening". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  9. ^ "Nordstrom Opens Its Doors At The SoNo Collection In Norwalk, CT". PR Newswire. October 11, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Morago, Greg (September 1, 2006). "Macy's on a Misson". The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  11. ^ Bomey, Nathan (March 19, 2020). "Taubman Centers temporarily closes malls throughout US as coronavirus spreads". USA Today. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Lindsay, Ryan (May 20, 2020). "Westfarms Mall Reopens, But Many Stores Remain Closed". Connecticut Public Radio. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Schott, Paul (December 14, 2020). "Lord + Taylor set to close CT stores within weeks". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  14. ^ Dehnel, Chris (August 7, 2020). "Macy's Backstage Ready to Open at Westfarms After Long Wait". Patch. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top Shopping Malls In Connecticut". CBS Connecticut. April 17, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "Simon Property Group Completes Acquisition Of Taubman Centers, Inc". Simon Property Group. December 29, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.

External links[]

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