New Trumbull mall owners make a good first impression on town officials

The new owner of the former Trumbull Westifled mall, Namdar Realty Group, made a good first impression on public officials during their first meeting, the town’s top elected official and economic development director said Friday.

First Selectwoman Vicki Tesoro said a Thursday afternoon meeting with officials with the Great Neck, N.Y. mall operator “went very well.” Tesoro and Rina Bakalar, the town’s economic development director, said Namdar officials have agreed to regular meetings with

Trumbull leaders to head off any potential concerns.

Namdar acquired the mall, along with a Bay Shore, N.Y. retail center, for $196 million from UnibailRodamco-Westfield in a deal that closed over New Yea’s Day holiday weekend. Namdar took control of the mall on Jan. 3

“They were not standoffish,” Tesoro said of Namdar officials on Friday. “I had a good feeling about them.”

Namdar officials, both at the company’s headquarters and in Connecticut have not responded to interview requests made by Hearst Connecticut Media. The company also owns the

Meriden and Enfield malls.

Bakalar said the timing of Namdar’s acquisition comes as the town prepares to embark on a market study worth up to $350,000. Stantec, an internationallyknown engineering and advisory firm based in Canada, is leading the study, which begins in February.

The company has up to a year to complete the study, but Bakalar and Tesoro said as the study progresses, Stantec will reach to out to community businesses and other stakeholders, both in town and the region.

“We’re hoping some of those community meetings can take place in the mall,”

Bakalar said.

The selection of Stantec is significant. Part of the company’s business is advising mall operators on how to best remake their properties in a way that will draw more consumers in an era of rapidly-shifting consumer tastes and a dwindling number of major regional and national retailers.

The study will assess Trumbull’s business district from the Merritt Parkway to the town’s border with Bridgeport, and will also measure how much of a regional draw the mall and other businesses are. An example of that is Sacred Heart University in neighboring Fairfield, she said

“Sacred Heart University students, parents faculty and staff have a big impact on the success of the mall,” Bakalar said, citing data she has seen.

Tesoro said Namdar officials have expressed an interest attracting more local small businesses into the mall, with referrals coming from the town.

The mall currently has a vacancy rate of about 15 percent, Bakalar said.

One of the largest vacancies in mall, the former Lord & Taylor space, isn’t even owned by Namdar, she said. It is owned by Canadian retail giant, Hudson’s

Bay Co.

Bakalar said as part of the deal between Namdar and Paris-based UnibailRodamco-Westfield, was that URW put money in escrow that will enable a substantial makeover of the mall’s parking garage.

Between 60 and 70 percent of the parking garage will be replaced with Namdar officials overseeing the project, which is expected to begin in the spring, she said.