New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
T.J. Maxx to close this fall, Clinton town officials say
Off-price retailer is expected to take over vacant Walmart store
SHORELINE — T.J. Maxx is moving out of its location in Clinton on Main Street in the fall, says a Clinton town official. The store is expected to relocate to Guilford, according to town officials there.
Guilford officials are hoping that T.J. Maxx will occupy the closed Walmart location in the Shoreline Plaza.
According to Chris Aniskovich, chairman of Clinton’s Town Council, “October is their closing date here in Clinton.”
However, T.J. Maxx spokespersons are staying mum and would not comment on the Clinton store closing or opening a Guilford store.
In Guilford, an application for a sign permit on behalf of T.J. Maxx was filed Friday, March 3 with the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The application, filed by American Sign Inc., names the property owner as J.R. Daly & Sons, 900 Boston Post Road, Guilford, the site of the former Walmart, which closed its doors in May 2022.
Guilford First Selectman Matt Hoey does not have any more information regarding the move by T.J. Maxx, except the filing of the sign permit, he said.
“I’m excited about the opportunity for that space to be occupied by a major retailer,” he said.
“The loss of Walmart was a significant loss for many members of our community and we are concerned about the financial health of the Shoreline Plaza,” he said. “It’s been vacant for quite some time, so to have it rented would be a good thing for the community, as well as the property owners.”
The application includes designs for two signs, both LED, lit internally. One design is for a red, aluminum/acrylic sign, applied to a wall, 4 feet, 7 inches by 21 feet, 6 ½ inches and would display T.J. Maxx’s custom logo. The other is for an under-canopy sign, red and white aluminum/acrylic with the company logo, 1 foot by 30 inches.
The sign permit will be reviewed by the Guilford Planning & Zoning office and the Design Review Committee.
Aniskovich said while Clinton town officials have not been officially notified that T.J. Maxx was closing, the town council had confirmed it by talking to store employees.
“They don’t have to notify the town,” he said about the corporate owners of T.J. Maxx, TJX Companies Inc. There is “no obligation on their behalf. ” “T.J. Maxx has not announced any store changes in Clinton at this time,” Sabrina Stewart, public relations specialist for TJX/T.J. Maxx, said in an email.
About plans to open a store in Guilford, she wrote, “Typically, it is our practice not to announce store openings until closer to an intended opening date.”
Meanwhile, the landlord at the Guilford location did some preliminary work with the town for T.J. Maxx several months ago.
At a special meeting of the Guilford Design Review Committee, June 22, Nick Daly, one of the property owners, said T.J. Maxx/Homegoods was interested in occupying some 45,000 square feet of the 78,000-square-foot building, according to minutes of the meeting.
Then, Daly said that the additional 33,000 square feet, on the west end of the building, could be occupied by “a medical user or perhaps a gym.”
When contacted last week, Daly declined to comment.
Aniskovich said the upcoming vacancy at the Clinton Town Center plaza does not reflect a retail downturn in Clinton.
Clinton remains a shopping destination with Clinton Premium Outlets and the new Indian River Landing complex, where the new Big Y is one of its anchor stores, Aniskovich said.
“We’re doing well,” he said. John Allen, who heads Clinton’s Economic Development Commission, echoed this.
“We get 4 million people that visit Clinton Crossing (now Clinton Premium Outlets) throughout the year — that’s a lot of people that come to visit.”
As far as Indian River Landing, he noted that another anchor store, Madison Furniture Barn, “a large volume furniture store,” is soon to be completed.
The new Starbucks also does a brisk trade there and he added that restaurants, which are slated to go in, will only boost business for all nearby retailers.
“It’s nice to be able to have lunch and go back shopping,” he said.
And, even after two years, Big Y remains a big draw there.
“It’s not just the initial blush” of when they first opened, he said. “You go there all the time now, it’s humming.”