Danbury Fair Mall

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Danbury Fair Mall

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image_width = 300
caption = Interior of mall during 2007 holiday shopping season,
showing new color scheme and decor
location = Danbury, CT, USA
address = Backus Ave. & I-84
coordinates = coor dms|41|22|56|N|73|28|39|W
opening_date = October 28, 1986
closing_date =
developer = Wilmorite Properties
manager =
owner = The Macerich Company
architect =
number_of_stores = 200
number_of_anchors = 7
floor_area = 1,292,578 square feet (116,332 m²)cite web|title=Leasing Opportunities|url=http://www.danburyfairmall.com/leasing.asp|accessdate=2008-03-15]
floors = 2
parking =
website = http://www.danburyfairmall.com/
footnotes =The Danbury Fair Mall is the largest shopping mall in the U.S. state of Connecticut and is one of the largest malls in New England. [cite news | url = http://www.seenewengland.com/see_connecticut.html | title = Welcome to the Connecticut Visitor's Information Booth: | publisher = See Connecticut | accessdate = 2007-04-16] It is located off of Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 7 in the city of Danbury opposite the Danbury Municipal Airport.

History

The Danbury Fair Mall was built by the Wilmorite Corporation on land formerly used for the Danbury State Fair. [Ravo, Nick, " [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE0DD1E3CF937A3575AC0A961948260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Country Fair Becomes Land of the Lava Lamp] ", "New York Times", September 4 1987] It opened on October 28 1986, anchored by Sears and G. Fox (which became Filene's in 1993 and since closed). Macy's opened in October 1987 and JC Penney 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.There are approximately 200 retailers and eateries in the two-level mall, including the major department stores Macy's, Sears, Lord & Taylor and JCPenney. Filene's was in the mall until the 2006 Macy's consolidation. The store was convert|168879|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on. on two levels. The mall is especially popular with kids, partly due to the double decker carousel in the food court as well as 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. The mall is often decorated during the holidays. For special events such as song and dance performances, the central area can be converted into a stage area.

Renovation

In January 2007, the Danbury Fair Mall began the process of an interior renovation, which was completed in spring 2008. The mall received new lighting fixtures which replaced the original globe bulb lighting, new stone style floors which replaced the original tan, brown, and green tile floors, soft seating areas through-out the mall, new stained wood accents, and new paint. The two areas that received the most changes were the food court and the center court. A newly renovated food court features a slightly curved panoramic view of the restaurant choices, which reduced the number of restaurants from 16 to 11. New banquet seating is featured in the food court. The center court includes the removal of the large scale fountains (which also use to be served as the event area), and has been replaced with a Starbucks coffee bar, soft seating with tables, and a down-scaled water feature to reduce the noise level.

Anchors/Majors

*H&M
*JCPenney (convert|137000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on) opened in 1988
*Lord & Taylor (convert|80000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on) opened in 1991
*Macy*s (convert|240000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on) opened in 1987
*Old Navy
*Sears (convert|178000|sqft|m2|-2|abbr=on)opened in 1986

References

External links

* [http://www.danburyfairmall.com/ Danbury Fair Mall website]
* [http://www.macerich.com/ The Macerich Company]
* [http://www.wilmorite.com/ The Wilmorite Corporation]
* [http://www.createworldwide.com/projects_1.php?prop=16 CREATE]