Can the Enfield Square Mall come full circle and once again be 'the place' to be?

Feb. 27—ENFIELD — When Figaro's owner Ernesto Nolasco opened his restaurant in 1975, his spot in the Enfield Square Mall was a prime location.

"This used to be the place," Nolasco said.

He was so successful back then that he was able to relocate the restaurant 10 years later to its current location right outside the mall, while opening and operating a pizza place inside.

ENFIELD SQUARE MALL

OWNERS: Three Long Island, New York,-based companies — Namdar Realty Group, Ch. Hakimi Global Inc., and Mason Asset Management.

SIZE: 787,000 square feet, one-story.

LOCATION: 90 Elm St.

ANCHOR: Target

The mall was a magnet for people like Christian Sinclair, an Enfield resident who's worked at Figaro's for 12 years but burned a lot of his youthful free time at the mall arcade.

"In the '90s it was happening," Sinclair said of the shopping center.

It was a place that Jenny Lynn, who also grew up in Enfield, said she remembers hanging out in with friends, "hoping to bump into one of our crushes" as they too burned youthful free time strolling alongside shoppers.

"The energy of the mall was amazing," she said recently, explaining that her first job at 16 was at the mall movie theater. "Lots of memories, good times, and loved shopping every Friday on my break."

In recent years, however, storefronts have gone vacant, including anchors such as Macy's and Sears. Nolasco said there has been significantly less foot traffic at the mall, which inherently affects his business.

"If the mall was busy we'd be busier," Nolasco said. "But our food and reputation keep people coming back."

And a few businesses, like Furnari Jewelers, are still seeing plenty of success in the mall.

Owner Joseph Furnari said that last month was one of the busiest he's had since opening the store in May 2012.

"This has been one of my best Januarys," Furnari said.

Furnari was even able to open another location in the Holyoke mall in Massachusetts last year.

Bath & Body Works is another business that has experienced financial success at the Enfield Square Mall while so many of its neighbors have not.

Kathy Blanchard has been working part-time at Bath & Body Works since retiring from a job with the town's payroll department almost six years ago. While she is happy to be a part of a thriving business, she admitted that watching the rest of the stores leave has been sad.

"We lost a lot of stores," Blanchard said. "It really is sad."

GNC, Dollar 'N' Things, Payless Shoesource, and Panera Bread have all either closed or relocated recently — some blaming the coronavirus pandemic.

"There's not going to be any progress with COVID going on," Furnari said.

Karen Campbell, director of operations for the North Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, cited the pandemic as the ultimate reason GNC moved out. Other businesses, like the Cinemark movie theater, have been temporarily closed since the pandemic began.

"There are some businesses here that aren't open because of COVID," Campbell said.

In addition to temporarily or permanently closing stores, the pandemic has proved a hindrance to some revival efforts for the mall.

"A lot of things have been hindered by COVID," Campbell said.

When the chamber moved its office into the mall in 2019, it proved beneficial, as it was able to host events that brought lots of people into the retail space.

"It's been a good fit for us," Campbell said. "Those events really brought this mall to life."

Because of pandemic restrictions, however, Campbell said her organization has not been able to host these types of get-togethers.

Laurie Whitten, Enfield's development services director, said the pandemic also has delayed the potential sales of the 13 parcels the mall was divided into last year. She emphasized that there has been plenty of interest expressed, and the sale process is starting to heat up again.

"We are moving again, just kind of restarting," Whitten said.

But the pandemic wasn't time wasted, as there was some important progress made, she said. The Capitol Region Council of Governments conducted a traffic study of the mall area that will provide important market information and can help steer development efforts, Whitten said.

The town also has begun work on its 10-year plan of conservation and development, which Whitten said would lead to grander plans for the mall, as well as the rest of the town.

The pandemic also has provided an opportunity for the town to build a relationship with the mall's new owners.

In 2018, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. sold the mall for $11.4 million to the current owners, three Long Island-based companies — Namdar Realty Group, Ch. Hakimi Global Inc., and Mason Asset Management.

Town Manager Christopher Bromson said that at first he was skeptical and wasn't sure what the new owners wanted out of the mall.

"There was some concern at first," Bromson admitted, but adding that over the past few months his skepticism was put at ease.

"I've come to know them," Bromson said, "and I respect them."

Bromson said the owners asked the town what options they might be open to for the future of the mall, and they respected the town's desire to preserve the mall and revitalize it.

"It's a symbiotic relationship," Bromson said. "The better they do, the better it is for the town."

Bromson cited the owners' eagerness to host a winter farmers market inside the mall as an example of this mutually beneficial relationship.

"It was great when the farmers market was in here," Blanchard said. "We had so many people shopping."

Bromson said the owners also eagerly stepped up when asked to host a large COVID-19 testing site in the mall, even though the state ultimately chose a different location.

"They gave us permission immediately," Bromson said.

The owners have locked onto some prospects for new anchor stores, Bromson said, reiterating the familiar phrase though, that the negotiations were put on hold due to the coronavirus.

Bromson said the state doesn't allow the town to offer the same tax breaks and energy cost reductions to their commercial properties as other states do, tying the hands of the town in its ability to help Namdar Realty attract tenants.

"We can't do that," Bromson said. "It's much more limited in Connecticut."

He went on to say that splitting the mall into separate properties did create an increase in valuation, which is one benefit the town was able to offer.

This happened in January 2020, when the Planning and Zoning Commission approved Namdar Realty's request to subdivide the property into 13 parcels. Bromson said this is also more attractive to potential businesses that want to move into the mall, as they would prefer to own their own parcel as opposed to renting it.

One new store, a consignment shop called Claudette's Boutique, is set to move into the mall in March, and there are a few other stores rumored to be coming, but Whitten said she couldn't confirm any others at this time.

"They like to keep things under wraps until it's a done deal," Whitten said about the mall's owners.

In another effort to breathe life into the mall, the Chamber of Commerce is encouraging chamber members to move their business there, Campbell said.

John M. Clapp, emeritus professor of real estate at the University of Connecticut, said that while the pandemic has certainly added to the issues the mall faces, it is not the reason for it.

Clapp said the decline of the traditional shopping mall is a trend happening all over the country that starts with the loss of anchor stores.

"In general, this is part of a longer-term trend," Clapp said.

It's something Furnari agreed with, noting that Sears and similar department stores have closed in massive numbers all over the country.

"It's not because of Enfield," Furnari said. "All the department stores went nationally."

Clapp said that while the problem is nationwide, revitalization solutions are specific to each situation. He added that in the case of the Enfield mall, there are several positives to look at — one is the location right off Interstate 91.

"This is valuable land," Clapp said.

Bromson agreed, saying that Namdar Realty told him the mall is in one of the best retail spots in New England.

Clapp said that another positive is Namdar Realty itself, which owns around 60 malls across the country and has often found success revitalizing them.

"One of their specialties is saving distressed real estate," Clapp said.

He went on to say that he doubts the owners will be in any rush to do so, however, suggesting they most likely will hold out to see if any town, state, or federal funding becomes available.

Bromson, like most town residents, wants to see the mall return to its former glory.

"The Enfield mall is iconic in town," Bromson said. "Hopefully we can revitalize it."

Adam covers the towns of Enfield and Suffield. For more updates, follow Adam on Twitter: @AHushinJI and Facebook: Adam Hushin.