From the early days of what had been dubbed the 95-7 Project near exit 16 in Norwalk, many people have questioned whether the area needed another shopping center – especially at a time when consumers are shopping online in record numbers. Nevertheless, residents started to see construction in the long-dormant area along West Avenue in late 2017, and official announcements touted selling points from time to time, including the news that Nordstrom’s and Bloomingdale’s would become its anchor stores. Last month the mall – even if some of its promoters are reluctant to use that name – finally opened, even while many of the stores inside weren’t ready yet. (In addition, tragedy struck on the morning of November 12th, when a construction worker fell and died at the Bloomingdale’s store while putting finishing touches on the outside – at about 2:30 in the morning.)
So what is the place like? A photographer for QOTDCT has made three visits there: on October 12th (the day after it opened), November 9th, and November 14th (the opening night for Bloomingdale’s). Between the first and third visits, more stores did open, although much of the mall looked unfinished, and only those anchor stores seemed to have a significant number of customers inside.
The night of its October 11th opening, one of the letters in its street-level electric sign had gone out (see above), adding to the feeling that this opening was somewhat rushed. The next day, drivers were greeted by a series of signs in the parking lot that reminded you how to pay – and what consequences you could pay if you didn’t – as well as by the all-seeing security cameras typical of so many buildings these days.
Parking at the mall costs three dollars for three hours, although if you’re willing to give away even more of your personal information, you can download the SoNo Collection parking app via Android or iOS. Otherwise there’s virtually no free parking anywhere in the vicinity – and more signs stating ‘No Parking’ or related messages have been installed on nearby streets. On that first visit in October, some bicyclists made their way around the lot, although a security guard later told one of them that the only bicycle parking was outside the mall.
On your way inside, you’ll find a strange array of phrases on the walls and floors – many of which look as if they were designed by an ad agency trying to come up with the next viral expression but never reaching its goal.
The views inside the mall are often impressive, and it certainly has a different look inside to the one to which it’s most often compared: the Stamford Town Center, two towns over.
In the first visit, the number of places to visit were pretty limited. You could find a decent number of shoppers checking out Nordstrom, but more just appeared to be interested in checking out the mall, as opposed to doing any significant shopping. On some floors you’ll find video screens – some a couple of stories high, featuring avant-garde art and advertisements (see the thid picture above), and smaller ones providing a touch-screen directory for stores (although only a fraction of the planned stores was open at the time.)
There are several areas between stores that are quite large and don’t really seem like a great use of that much space. Many of the walls featured ads for stores that will be ‘coming soon’, so perhaps when they do open, those areas won’t feel so vast. Along the route from Nordstrom to Bloomingdale’s (the latter not yet open at the time), a variety of chairs were placed in some of those open spots, as well as a couple of charging stations.
One pedestrian exit from the mall led to an unfinished area, then outdoors to a ramp that takes you down to the on the ground floor – which, unfortunately, was blocked by temporary barriers. Before you enter, you see this writing on the floor, which was still there during the second visit.
By the time of that follow-up visit, more stores were open, including two places for food: Bobby Q’s (set up more like a food truck than a restaurant) and a Pretzelmaker. You could also now find such curious features as a pinball machine along your walk.
On the upper floor near the doors to the parking lot, there’s a giant sign with another slogan saying “Be Bold” – only there was a giant box blocking part of the front, and passengers entering the mall would see the same side in reverse.
On the evening of the 14th, there was plenty to see within the newly-opened Bloomingdale’s – where those who signed up for the opening received up to $40 in gift cards for the store. However, they expire on December 16th and are only good at this location – two things that aren’t otherwise supposed to apply to gift cards purchased in Connecticut. Once inside, the look of the store was definitely impressive, even if it wasn’t that different from those of similar mall-based shopping destinations.
Nobody could argue about the entertainment, either, thanks to a great show by Dispatch lead vocalist Pete Francis (who has ties to Greenwich)… in the luggage department. Simultaneously, a fashion show was held one floor above, featuring News 12 reporters Marissa Alter and John Craven as hosts. (Photos of both can be seen at the QOTDCT pages on Twitter and Instagram.) There were plenty of hors d’oeuvres and drinks made available, too – but it was also evident that much of the merchandise available in the store was of the upscale variety. One clear example can be found on the price tag for this 2-slice toaster: a penny under $300!
As seen in these photos from the first trip, maneuvering around the site itself isn’t easy, either. While traffic hasn’t been much of an issue yet, the traffic patterns around the area have been changed – and reduce pedestrian access.
Of greater concern is that when you leave the mall by the front exit, you have no choice but to turn right – towards I-95, and then out of the city. Turning left would otherwise lead you in the direction of the true heart of SoNo, where smaller stores would certainly benefit from a new influx of out-of-towners. (Other exits out of the mall can get you there, but they’re not nearly as prominent.)
This all has led many to wonder how much SoNo benefits from the SoNo Collection, when so many of the stores focus on merchandise that local residents may not be able to afford, and little is done to get those mall visitors to check out the rest of the area. The unfinished nature of much of the place, and the tragedy from earlier this month, leave some with the impression that the whole project was rushed for the sake of meeting self-imposed deadlines (including Black Friday). The argument has been made that the revenue brought into the city will eventually help the town’s citizens, but this sounds like the very kind of trickle-down economics that hasn’t served towns like Norwalk well in the past.
Since there are still a lot of stores yet to open, it may take a considerable amount of time before it’s clear if the SoNo Collection helps the surrounding community, or if it only adds to the problems associated with gentrification. In the meantime, there are plans underway for the Stamford Town Center – the site for the 1991 film “Scenes From A Mall” – to be sold, with some assistance from the city. The mall may be seen by many as a thing of the past, but in at least some parts of our state, it still plays an important role, at least for the time being, for local economies.
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