Westfarms

Westfarms Mall
Westfarms Mall logo
Exterior of main entrance (2018)
Map
Coordinates41°43′22″N 72°45′48″W / 41.72278°N 72.76333°W / 41.72278; -72.76333
Address1500 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Opening dateOctober 14, 1974; 50 years ago (October 14, 1974)[1]
DeveloperTaubman Centers
Management
Owner
  • Taubman Centers
  • (Simon Property Group)
No. of stores and servicesover 150 stores
No. of anchor tenants5
Total retail floor area1,267,000 square feet (117,700 m2)
Parkingfree outdoor and covered parking
Websiteshopwestfarms.com
[2]

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 currently owned and managed by Taubman Centers, a subsidiary of Simon Property Group.[citation needed]

History

Westfarms opened in 1974. It was developed by Bloomfield Hills-based Taubman Centers, which remains in charge of its management since then. Its original anchors were 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. They relocated from Bishops Corner in West Hartford.[citation needed]

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 was the first Nordstrom in New England and remained their only store in Connecticut until The SoNo Collection in Norwalk opened in 2019.[9]

On September 9, 2006, Filene's became Macy's.[10]

In August 2020, it was announced that upscale specialty department store retailer Lord & Taylor would shutter its traditional brick and mortar format as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12] In December, 2022, it was announced that Jordan's Furniture would be reconstructing the original Lord & Taylor structure which opened in 2023.[13]

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.[14]

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
JCPenney 2 1974 —
Jordan's Furniture 2 2023 — Replaced Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor 2 1982 2020
Macy's 3 2006 — Replaced Filene's
Macy's Men's & Home 2 2006 — Replaced Filene's Men's & Home
Nordstrom 2 1997 — First location in Connecticut and New England
Sage-Allen 2 1974 1993
  • Entrance to Westfarms
    Entrance to Westfarms
  • Apple Store for consumer electronics
    Apple Store for consumer electronics
  • Nordstrom department store
    Nordstrom department store
  • Pandora jewelry store
    Pandora jewelry store

References

  1. ^ "Hartford Courant Archive". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  2. ^ "Westfarms" (PDF). Taubman Companies. 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. ^ 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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  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. ^ Young, Lauren (September 4, 2021). "What's happening at Natick Lord & Taylor space? Co-work concept has been pitched". MetroWest Daily News. Natick, Connecticut. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Schott, Paul (December 14, 2020). "Lord + Taylor set to close CT stores within weeks". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Turmelle, Luther (December 11, 2023). "Behind the scenes at the new Jordan's Furniture at Westfarms mall in Connecticut". CT Insider. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  14. ^ "Top Shopping Malls In Connecticut". CBS Connecticut. April 17, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2018.