Stamford Town Center
Encyclopedia
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
in Downtown Stamford
Downtown Stamford
Downtown Stamford is the central business district of the city of Stamford, Connecticut, USA. It is an economically thriving area of the city, with major retail establishments, a shopping mall, a university campus, the headquarters of major corporations and fortune 500 companies, as well as other...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. The 853000 square feet (79,246.3 m²) mall is the eighth largest in Connecticut, with space for about 130 stores and restaurants. It includes a 250000 square feet (23,225.8 m²) Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
and a 78000 square feet (7,246.4 m²) Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
as anchors. The 1991 picture, Scenes from a Mall
Scenes from a Mall
Scenes from a Mall is a 1991 satirical film directed by Paul Mazursky with a screenplay by Roger L. Simon and Mazursky, starring Bette Midler and Woody Allen. Woody Allen's character, Nick, is married to author Deborah, played by Midler. After years of a happy marriage, Nick reveals to her he's had...
, was partially filmed at this center.
Construction
Built by F.D. Rich Co, and opened in 1982, the mall's site was part of the Landmark urban renewalUrban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
project and previously was the location of tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
structures that once lined Greyrock Place, the street which is its primary address. Saks Fifth Avenue opened its store in the mall on March 12, 1983. A third anchor, a 160000 square feet (14,864.5 m²) Filene's
Filene's
Filene's was a Boston-based department store owned by Federated Department Stores , and May Department Stores . It operated throughout New England and in New York.-Early years:...
closed in 2005 (before the merger of the May Department Stores
May Department Stores
The May Department Stores Company was a national department store chain in the United States, founded in 1877 by David May. The company ceased to exist in 2005 when it was merged with Federated Department Stores, Inc . Prior to the merger it was headquartered in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri...
and Federated Department Stores
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
), as the store's sales were not up to par. This location originally opened as a J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
store, but was eventually shuttered and replaced by Filene's
Filene's
Filene's was a Boston-based department store owned by Federated Department Stores , and May Department Stores . It operated throughout New England and in New York.-Early years:...
in 1996. The far south end of the mall which housed J.C. Penney and Filene's was demolished in 2006 and was replaced by a pedestrian-oriented exterior complex of retail stores and restaurants that directly connects to the mall. It opened on November 1, 2007.
The construction of the mall and adjacent office towers had a profound effect on the face of downtown Stamford during the 1970s and 1980s, and was profiled in a May 8, 1988 article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
headlined "A Town Sells Off Pieces of its Soul."
Stamford Town Center has four floors of shopping - floors 3, 4, 5 and 7, with The Food Court located on the 7th floor. The supporting parking structure has space for 4,000 cars and is situated in levels below and above the mall, thus forming a kind of mall and parking 'sandwich'.
The mall was a significant part of Stamford's urban renewal efforts, and thus was not without controversy. The mall gutted the heart of Stamford's traditional Main Street retailing and business district, and is widely perceived to be a large fortress-like structure, that even today appears hugely out of scale to the remaining cityscape. Another perception of its design is that it was built to primarily cater to auto-oriented visitors and it was made difficult to enter from the street as a pedestrian. Most pedestrian routes from the street involve going through the mall's anchor stores or through the other (primarily office) buildings of Landmark Square and Atlantic Street. The redevelopment of the former Filene's/ J.C.Penney location has alleviated some of these original design characteristics .
Levels of Success
From its opening, the mall was very popular and drew shoppers and tourists from as far as the New York City boroughs and even internationally.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=940DE6DB1531F931A15756C0A96E948260 The redevelopment of the former Filene's anchor has added pedestrian-friendly retail space and provides a better streetscape.http://www.shopstamfordtowncenter.com/infodesk/media/5267.html In November, 2007, Stamford Town Center opened four new restaurants; California Pizza KitchenCalifornia Pizza Kitchen
California Pizza Kitchen , known within the food industry as CPK, is a casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza...
, Cosi
Così (restaurant)
Così is an American restaurant chain that primarily offers gourmet sandwiches and salads. It was founded in 1996, and there are currently over 144 locations in the continental United States. The original Così restaurant was based on a cafe in Paris, France....
, Kona Grill
Kona Grill
thumb|right|Kona Grill at [[Stamford Town Center]]Kona Grill Inc. is a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, that owns and operates 25 restaurants, the newest one opened in Baltimore, MD. It was founded in 1997. Its restaurants have won over 50 awards, including Best New Restaurant, Best...
and P.F. Chang's China Bistro. The Capital Grille
The Capital Grille
The Capital Grille is a national chain of upscale steakhouses; it currently has locations in twenty states and the District of Columbia. It is owned by Darden Restaurants, based in Orlando, Florida, a multi-brand restaurant operator that owns other restaurant brands such as Olive Garden and Red...
opened on February 25, 2008. Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
opened their largest Connecticut store in this new space.http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-16144682_ITM
The Plaza
The Plaza, as it is referred to, is a pedestrian friendly complex of restaurants and merchants that are new to Connecticut, as well as the region.The Plaza offers valet parking and easy access to parking level 1 from Tresser Boulevard. There is also a new entrance that was built to ease accessibility to the main mall. Other mall and parking levels are accessible by 2 all-glass elevators that access Levels 1,S*/M* for the Plaza, and the mall levels (4-5), and levels 6-Rooftop(10). Barnes & Noble is accessible from Level 4 as well as from the Plaza. H&M is accessible from Level 5 of the mall only.
The initial opening of the Plaza (which included Barnes & Noble, H&M, California Pizza Kitchen, Cosi, Kona Grill, and P.F. Chang's) occurred on November 1, 2007. Mitchell's Fish Market opened on December 8, 2007, while The Capital Grille opened on February 25, 2008. Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que
Famous Dave's
Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que, formerly Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que Shack, is a chain of southern-style barbecue restaurants serving pork ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. Dave Anderson, an Ojibwe who served as the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs from 2004 to 2005, started the...
was originally planned to open in this new space, but pulled out of the project.
Tenants
The new restaurants are as follows:- California Pizza KitchenCalifornia Pizza KitchenCalifornia Pizza Kitchen , known within the food industry as CPK, is a casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza...
- CosiCosì (restaurant)Così is an American restaurant chain that primarily offers gourmet sandwiches and salads. It was founded in 1996, and there are currently over 144 locations in the continental United States. The original Così restaurant was based on a cafe in Paris, France....
- Kona GrillKona Grillthumb|right|Kona Grill at [[Stamford Town Center]]Kona Grill Inc. is a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, that owns and operates 25 restaurants, the newest one opened in Baltimore, MD. It was founded in 1997. Its restaurants have won over 50 awards, including Best New Restaurant, Best...
- Mitchell's Fish Market
- P.F. Chang's
- The Capital Grille
New retail options in the Plaza include:
- Barnes & NobleBarnes & NobleBarnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
- at 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²), it is the largest in the state. - H&MH&MH & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
- Newest store in Fairfield County