Danbury Fair (shopping mall)

Danbury Fair (also referred to as Danbury Fair Mall) is an upscale shopping mall located in Danbury, Connecticut.[2] As of 2011, it is the second largest shopping mall in Connecticut,[3] as well as the fifth largest in New England.[4] It is located off of Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 7 opposite the Danbury Municipal Airport.

Interior of mall during 2017 holiday shopping season, showing new color scheme and decor
Danbury Fair Mall
LocationDanbury, Connecticut
Coordinates41°22′56″N 73°28′39″W
Address7 Backus Ave, Danbury, CT
Opening dateOctober 28, 1986 (October 28, 1986)
DeveloperWilmorite Properties
OwnerMacerich
No. of anchor tenants7 (4 open, 2 under construction, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,226,000 sq ft (113,900 m2)[1]
Public transit accessBus interchange HARTransit: 6, 7 Link
Websitedanburyfairmall.com

Overview

There are 192 retailers and eateries, including the major department stores Macy's and JCPenney. Filene's was in the mall until the 2006 Macy's consolidation. The mall contains attractions targeting children, including a double-decker carousel in the food court and many youth-oriented events and activities the mall sponsors on a regular basis (such as "Family Fun Night"). Many of these events take place in the mall's center on the lower floor. This space changes throughout the year, and can be converted into a stage area for special events such as song and dance performances. The mall is decorated during the holidays.

Entrance to the mall, designed to evoke the shape of a carousel

Every summer from June to July, a carnival opens, taking up one of the mall's parking areas. The mall refers to the event as the “Danbury City Fair” in a nod to the historic fair upon whose site the mall was built. When the mall changed companies in the mid-2000s, however, the carnival was cut back from a month-long event starting in June to just a two-week event, starting every Memorial Day weekend.

History

The mall was built by the Wilmorite Corporation on land formerly used for the Danbury Fair,[5][6] which paid $170,000 per acre (at that time, the highest price ever paid for land in the Danbury area).[7]

During construction, it emerged that two Wilmorite executives had paid Danbury's then-mayor, James Dyer $60,000 in cash, sometimes concealed in newspapers. They claimed he demanded the money to assure his support for the mall. The allegations contributed to Dyer's defeat for re-election in 1987. He was acquitted of corruption charges in 1990; other charges were dismissed later. [7]

The mall opened in 1986, anchored by Sears and G. Fox & Co. (which became Filene's in 1993). Macy's opened in October 1987, and JCPenney opened in March 1988. In 1991, Lord & Taylor and a parking garage were added. In 2005, the Wilmorite Corporation sold the mall to The Macerich Company.

The carousel in the food court, echoing the fairground site the mall was built on.

In January 2007, Danbury Fair began the process of an interior renovation, which was completed in Spring 2008.[8] The two areas that received the most noticeable renovations were the food court and the center court. The renovated food court featured new banquet seating and a slightly curved panoramic view of the restaurants, which reduced the number of restaurants from 16 to 11. In the center court, the large- scale fountains (which also doubled as event areas) were removed and replaced by a Starbucks coffee bar, soft seating with tables, and a down-scaled water feature to reduce the noise level.

By 2010, the Filene's store was reconstructed into mall space which includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Forever 21, Brio Tuscan Grille, The Cheesecake Factory, and L.L.Bean.[9][10]

In 2015, Primark opened one of its first American locations at the center.[11][12][13][14] It opened in the upper level of the Sears store, while Sears consolidated to an updated 56,000 sq ft format on the lower level.

The dawn of the 2020s saw several traditional retailers reduce the scale of their department store locations due to the impact of both digital retailers and the COVID pandemic.

On November 7, 2019, it was announced that the Sears location would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its traditional brick-and-mortar format.[15]

In August 2020, Lord & Taylor announced it would close its retail stores as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

List of anchor stores
NameNo. of FloorsYear OpenedYear ClosedNotes
Macy's31987—
JCPenney21988—
Lord & Taylor219912020
Primark12015—Replaced the second floor of Sears.
Dick's Sporting Goods12010—New construction that replaced Filene's site.

Replaced the second floor of Forever 21 in 2020.

Sears219862020Downsized to first floor in 2015 and closed in 2020.
G. Fox219861993
Filene's219932006Replaced G. Fox.
Forever 21220102019New construction that replaced Filene's site.
Target 1 2023 Replaced the first floor of Sears.

See also

References
  1. "Macerich | Properties | Danbury Fair". www.macerich.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  2. Hicks, Shannon (September 22, 2006). "Mall Is Adding Seven Fashion And Lifestyle Stores". Newtown Bee. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  3. Emil Pocock. "Largest Connecticut Shopping Centers". Eastern Connecticut University. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  4. "Danbury Fair Mall". Ettractions. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  5. Ravo, Nick (September 4, 1987). "Country Fair Becomes Land of the Lava Lamp". New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  6. "Danbury Fair Mall" (PDF). Wilmorite Management Group. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  7. Glaberson, William (April 27, 1992). "As the Mall Thrives, Main Street Struggles to Survive". New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  8. "Danbury Fair Mall". CREATE. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  9. Langlois, Mark (March 14, 2011). "Brio Tuscan Grille, The Cheesecake Factory Coming to Danbury Fair Mall". Danbury, CT Patch. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  10. Bissell, Jennifer (June 28, 2012). "L.L. Bean coming to Danbury Fair Mall". Westfair Communications. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  11. Perrefort, Dirk (February 19, 2015). "Danbury mall gets a new anchor". The News-Times. Danbury, Connecticut. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  12. Perrefort, Dirk (February 19, 2015). "Danbury mall gets a new anchor". The News-Times. Danbury, Connecticut. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  13. "At Danbury Fair". Seritage Growth Properties. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  14. Trotta, Bill (December 17, 2019). "Sears Experiment Unsuccessful, Danbury Store to Close". KICKS-FM. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  15. "Sears Experiment Unsuccessful, Danbury Store to Close".
  16. "More Lord + Taylor stores closing: Liquidation sales are underway as part of company's bankruptcy amid COVID-19". USA Today.
  17. , "Danbury mall sold in $2.33B deal", Written by Mark Langlois, News-Times, December 24, 2004. Accessed April 3, 2022.
  18. , "Freehold Raceway Mall; Freehold, New Jersey", Posted by Caldor, Labelscar: The Retail History Blog, December 14, 2006. Accessed April 3, 2022.

41.3822°N 73.4775°W / 41.3822; -73.4775

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