SoNo’s ‘combined success’
Washington Street developer says viability of mall, South Norwalk go hand in hand
NORWALK —When The SoNo Collection mall hung its holiday decorations a year ago weeks after opening, retail experts nationally keyed in on the South Norwalk mall as a litmus test for the sector.
Few noticed another big real estate transaction in SoNo last December: a New York City firm getting the keys to most of the storefronts on Washington Street, in a transaction on Christmas Eve valued at roughly $11 million. AGW Partners’ execution on its vision for the heart of SoNo could be instructive for a consumer economy stuck in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic, but with vaccines on the horizon that represent the critical first step to a recovery.
A new addition is now simmering on Washington Street, as SoNo Boil sets up to take over space most recently occupied by Blackstone’s Bistro. A few blocks north across the street from Maritime Aquarium, a similar eatery called Red Hook Seafood Boil & Bar has yet to open after signaling its intent to do so a year ago.
SoNo had a revolving door of restaurants in the most recent economic expansion, with Beach House SoNo, Cantiki Taco Deck, Johnny Utah’s, Killer B, Nola and Quartino Trattoria and Vineria just a few of the concepts to have come and gone along with Kaas & Co. — a Taste of Holland. The pandemic claimed more, to include Harlan Publick, Local Kitchen & Bar and Bubbly’s Bubble Tea.
Adam Greenbaum, principal of AGW Partners, says the firm aims to jam that revolving door in place and cement a new identity for Washington Street, where more stalwarts like Donovan’s and Beadworks can show staying power in the district. Last summer, AGW created a Norwalk To Go website to provide food delivery for patrons of
South Norwalk restaurants — but without the accompanying commissions charged by DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber. Eight establishments have their menus on the website today.
And four storefronts now house the popup SoNo Holiday Market featuring artists and craftspeople from throughout the region.
“Seeing ... everybody working as hard as they can to work with what they’ve got during the pandemic and preserve the tremendous investment that a lot of them made into building their restaurant or opening their store ... it was an inspiring thing to see,” Greenbaum said. “This has also been a time where I think that a lot of restaurateurs [and] a lot of retail operators have actually figured out how to be successful during this period. They have felt a new type of appreciation from the people who are local in their communities who want them to stay strong. ... And as a result, it’s actually catalyzed a lot of new interest in the portfolio.”
‘An ebb and flow’
Some Washington Street outlets saw boom business in the expansion of outdoor dining, including El Segundo and The Spread on opposite sides of a cul de sac owned by Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, with The Spread pouncing on Harlan Publick’s space to relocate from North Main Street.
In addition to SoNo Boil, new names include Affagato, named for the Italian dessert of ice cream or gelato topped with espresso. Greenbaum would like to see more options like Jean’s Closet, which sells hand-knitted apparel and household goods in addition to offering crochet classes.
“We felt ... the street [was] too concentrated to nighttime uses, and we saw a massive amount of demand for daytime uses,” Greenbaum said. “One of our major focuses is trying to focus on community building. We have the unique position where we are almost like the real-estate gatekeeper for most of the Washington Street area. It’s so important that every time that we sign a lease, we actually closely evaluate how that tenant will influence business and traffic to the other tenants.
“The real assessment is not just about who that tenant is, what rent will they pay and all that kind of stuff,” Greenbaum said. “Are we going to end up strengthening the balance of Washington Street in the process? And that will lead to more, combined success.”
In addition to more shops on Washington Street, Greenbaum would like to see “a real coffee powerhouse” in his words that would give people a place to linger for hours at a shot.
The SoNo Collection’s developer Brookfield Properties made food the centerpiece of The SoNo Collection with a similar goal, theorizing that people would have a bite at any of 15 eateries before shopping some more. And the mall continues to show its drawing power — Amazon 4-star and Camp are among prominent additions — having added The Readiness Collective which runs classes to help people learn to respond to emergencies, and selling supporting gear.
Greenbaum sees The SoNo Collection as a magnet benefiting the rest of South Norwalk rather than a source of competition, maintaining that independent boutiques and eateries can thrive in the shadow of the mall which has a large number of restaurants in addition to stores.
That’s the way David Farnworth sees it as well, from his viewpoint of living on Washington Street while operating a holiday popup this year at The SoNo Collection for his Ontopz line of drinking cup toppers.
“SoNo [and] Washington certainly has that charm and potential to be a go-to destination if they can attract those kind of retailers,” Farnworth said. “I think it would actually benefit the mall if they ... tapped into the charm of the neighborhood and worked hand-inhand with someone like AGW for the benefit of all.”
Greenbaum says challenges can be overcome posed by the pending replacement of the Walk Bridge that carries rail traffic across the Norwalk River, which will result in street closures and other disruptions over several years.
“When we started evaluating Washington Street, there were so many things about it that were peripheral ... that we just loved — whether it was the aquarium, whether it was the [Norwalk Oyster Festival] right over the bridge, whether it was all the new apartment buildings going in, the train two blocks away, the mall three blocks away,” Greenbaum said. “It was like in every direction you walked, you liked the project more and more.”
In 2014 just past the halfway point of his company’s ownership of the Washington Street portfolio, FDRich CEO Tom Rich noted the important foundation retail plays in any neighborhood — and how changing dynamics influence both. His company would go on to build The Pearl apartment building and Residence Inn Norwalk to bring more people to the district, with the numbers to swell more with the completion of FDRich’s SoNo Harbourside and adjacent redevelopment of Washington Village a few blocks south of Washington Street.
“There’s an ebb and flow in any neighborhood. There’s an ever-changing retail landscape,” Rich said at the time. “That’s just a natural progression.”