A 2019 photo shows the Enfield Square Mall in better days. A Nebraska developer plans to demolish the enclosed mall to make way for a mixed-use project including multifamily housing and hotels. Image courtesy of JJBers on Flickr | CC BY 2.0
Household names including Lego Group and MassMutual used to call Enfield home, occupying large corporate office parks. Greeting cards distributed from a massive Hallmark warehouse sat in racks at stores in the once-thriving Enfield Square Mall, which is now largely vacant.
Enfield officials are seeking to encourage redevelopment of vacant and underutilized commercial properties spanning at least 5 acres, updating land-use regulations to allow multifamily housing and commercial uses. The strategy could fill the gaps left by declines in demand for office and retail space.
The new special development district (SDD) zoning bylaw took effect May 26, following a May 9 vote of the Enfield Planning and Zoning Commission.
“Our goal is to make it easier for development and if something needs to be changed, we will entertain it,” said Lauren Whitten, Enfield’s director of planning.
Housing Envisioned at Mall, Former School
Changes of ownership following the departure of anchor tenants point to a starkly different future for the mall property, as well as Enfield’s remaining office parks.
The SDD gives developers a broad mix of permitted uses including commercial, light industrial, mixed-use and residential projects. Only heavy industry is prohibited.
The SDD applies to properties including the largely-vacant Enfield Square Mall, where the new owners are scheduled to begin demolition this summer.
Woodsonia Real Estate Group received state Bond Commission approval in April for a $10 million state grant for predevelopment costs.
The Elkhorn, Nebraska-based developer previously notified Enfield officials of its plan to replace the main mall structure with two hotels, approximately 450 multifamily housing units and 165,000 square feet of new retail space. Woodsonia did not respond to requests for comment.
The project also will apply for state Community Reinvestment Fund subsidies and brownfields remediation funding.
Another large parcel that could be redeveloped under the new zoning is the former Nathan Hale School on Taylor Road, Whitten said. The Town Council approved the sale of the property last year to The Court LLC, an Enfield developer that proposed 32 housing units, an athletic facility and day care center in response to a request for proposals.
In the past decade, Enfield has seen a series of high-profile commercial properties undergo dramatic transformations.
E-commerce created more demand for warehouse and distribution space, prompting Massachusetts developer Winstanley Enterprises to acquire the 324-acre former Hallmark property in 2016 and develop an 815,000 square-foot distribution center that it leased to lab equipment manufacturer Eppendorf and cheese distributor Agri-Mark. In April, Winstanley sold 204 remaining acres to Amazon.
Office park-to-industrial redevelopment also was the fate for Lego Group’s former North American headquarters, a 24-acre campus at 555 Taylor Road acquired by USA Hauling & Recycling in 2020 for $1.85 million. Lego Group opened its new headquarters last month in Boston.
MassMutual Campus Next Shoe to Drop?
A 65-acre potential redevelopment site waits in the wings at 100 Bright Meadow Blvd., the former MassMutual campus.
The property was acquired in May by MB Financial Group, a Branford-based real estate investor, for $4 million.
MB Financial Group is pursuing a office-to-housing conversion project in Stamford, according to a CTPost report, after acquiring the former WWE headquarters for $3.75 million.
MassMutual relocated its local offices to Springfield in 2018, leaving behind a 472,536 square-foot office building, parking garage and helipad at the Bright Meadow Boulevard site.
Whitten said the new owners have not yet contacted her office about their plans. A message was left seeking comment from MB Financial Group.
