‘Tremendous positive impact’
Grand opening of Round 1 at Danbury Fair mall set for early March with Target to follow
DANBURY — Shoppers will get their first taste of an arcade and bowling space at Danbury Fair mall in early March — and elected leaders will get their first sense of how a major entertainment tenant affects the business mix at the city’s largest taxpayer.
Round 1 Bowling and Arcade, a national chain, is opening football field-size center of electronic games and entertainment on March 9. It is taking applications for 10 full-times jobs to run bowling lanes, the arcade, and the restaurant and bar, while contractors are put the finishing touches on the 60,000-square-foot space last used by Forever 21.
It is also the first of two major tenants to open this year at the 38-year-old mall, which is rebranding itself as a 24-hour environment, including the prospect of 140 or more apartments inside the empty Lord & Taylor anchor store. In mid-spring, Target plans to open a 2.9-acre store in the spacious location abandoned by Sears.
“This is a tremendous positive impact for the mall,” said P.J. Prunty, executive director and CEO of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. “The arcade is going to be a huge draw, which is going to be an economic boom for the mall, and Target speaks for itself in terms of its draw.”
Inside the 1.3-millionsquare-foot shopping mall, the only sign that two major tenants are arriving is “Coming Soon” promotional banners at the concourse entrances. But outside, at the mall’s southern approach and at the mall’s west end overlooking Danbury Municipal Airport, the facades are undergoing transformations. Work on the main entrance to Target across from the parking garage was nearing completion at the end of last week, with decorative metal panels installed alongside bright red corner details. And at the mall’s southern approach next to L.L. Bean, Round 1 was preparing to punctuate its new exterior entrance with a 17-foot red and white bowling pin. Target, which also is taking applications for mall store positions with a $17 per hour starting rate, has not yet announced an opening date.
“Everything is really coming along,” said Nicole Ruotolo, Danbury Fair’s marketing manager, adding that other tenants are also coming to the food court and the retail concourse, including Terra Nossa Brazilian Grill and J. Crew Factory.At stake for Danbury Fair is its ability to grow at a time when big retailers are declining due to the popularity of online shopping. In turn, the mall’s ability to stay profitable at a time when other regional malls are folding directly impacts City Hall’s bottom line when it comes to budget season. “Absolutely,” Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said. “You bring in places like this and that helps everyone else. I’m really excited about the direction that the mall is going.” The seven separately taxed properties that make up the 116-acre Danbury Fair mall together represent the city’s largest taxpayer by a wide margin. The mall paid $5 million in property taxes in 2022 and more than $6 million through the first three quarters of 2023, city officials said.At the same time, individual retail properties that make up the mall, including Macy’s and JCPenney have seen their sales suffer, causing them to seek lower assessments in the courts. Recent tax challenges from mall properties have cost Danbury $2.6 million in refunds or credits. That’s all the more reason to celebrate the advent of new tenants such as Round 1 and Target, Alves and Prunty said.“Danbury fair has consistently bucked the trend of what we have seen happen nationwide with malls in decline,” Prunty said. “Danbury Fair is taking a wholistic view what a mall should look like, and it’s spot-on.”