SoNo Collection remains in limelight
As artist Drew Clay prepped a line of canvases on Thursday at The SoNo Collection ahead of a weekend series of group meditations as part of his “dream painting” exhibit, he took a moment to ponder the new mall in South Norwalk which itself had been a blank canvas only a few months before.
His aesthetic judgment? The SoNo Collection is a visual stunner with its soaring ceilings, natural light and attractive concourses. But the final critique of the mall is still a work in progress among the shoppers on which
The SoNo Collection will depend, as developer Brookfield Properties dabs in the final touches, fills in storefronts, and adds activities like
Clay’s weekend sessions as part of this past weekend’s
“SoNo Spectacular
Holiday Bash.”
The SoNo Collection is the most significant addition to Norwalk life in two decades, dating back to the 2000 arrival of the nearby Stepping Stones Museum for Children. But in the early going, opinions have been mixed on the massive mall that has sprouted at the gateway to SoNo. Many commenters echo Clay’s assessment, but some have found fault with elements of the shopping center — first and foremost, the staggered schedule of store openings.
With the opening this past week of the Camp toy store, The Children’s Place, Seventh Sense Botanical Therapy and Vintage Taylor among others, The SoNo Collection reached the start of Black Friday week with about three dozen retailers active and more than a dozen additional stores in the works.
A few of those retailers will be star attractions, including the first Amazon 4star store planned for Connecticut. And still to come are more than a dozen eateries and watering holes, with Pinstripes having set up a recruiting table this week to staff
“One of my favorite pieces of feedback is, ‘This doesn’t feel like a mall.’ ... The qualifying statement is, ‘There’s so much space — there’s so much that is different here.”
Matt Seebeck,
SoNo Collection senior general manager
the massive bowling bistro entertainment zone it is opening in midDecember.
The SoNo Collection’s Senior General Manager Matt Seebeck said that while the mall’s spacious layout and visual appeal has been the most oftcited feedback he has received, he is attuned to any suggestions for improvements and is implementing those where possible. As examples, Brookfield Properties added furniture after complaints from some men of excessively low seating, and the mall dimmed a digital billboard on the exterior after some city residents complained.
“Obviously ... the fullservice restaurants are not online yet,” Seebeck said. “One of my favorite pieces of feedback is, ‘This doesn’t feel like a mall.’ ... The qualifying statement is, ‘There’s so much space — there’s so much that is different here.”
Food, bags, parking
Brookfield Properties has yet to provide updated shopper estimates after reporting 60,000 visitors the opening weekend, with a spokesperson saying the company is able to generate precise counts.
In its first six weeks of operation, The SoNo Collection has received about 6,000 “likes” on Facebook, more than five times the number of the far larger American Dream destination mall that opened a month ago in East Rutherford, N.J.
Only about three dozen people have taken the time to post reviews on the mall’s Facebook page, however, some of which have drawn additional responses. While many echo Clay’s take on The SoNo Collection’s impressive visuals, others find fault with elements of the shopping center, including the decision to stagger the opening of stores and restaurants in the weeks after the concourses were opened to the public in midOctober.
The SoNo Collection’s major departure from traditional malls — dispensing with a central food court in favor of a dispersion of quickservice restaurants — has drawn praise from many as an innovative touch, but with at least a few individuals bemoaning the absence of accustomed mall fixtures like Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs and Panda Express.
Still, The SoNo Collection has featured a rotation of food trucks out front, and continues to tinker with the inside lineup — for instance, adding space recently for the popular Norwalk barbecue joint Bobby Q’s Cue & Co. which is currently operating on weekends.
One major concern dating back years to when the mall existed only as a proposal — traffic. While there have been episodes of gridlock in South Norwalk since the mall opened, most have been the result of planned lane closures to accommodate ongoing construction activity, with traffic moving regularly during days on West Avenue.
The parking garage continues to draw complaints however, both for the $3 flat fee The SoNo Collection charges for up to three hours of time — parking is currently free for those who download an app to register their vehicles — as well as for the flow of traffic inside the garage, with one commentator describing it as “a chaotic mess” in describing her experience.
Other concerns run the spectrum, from a small group of parents unnerved by glassy guardrails that overlook the mall’s atria, which Brookfield Properties maintains are safe in both design and construction; to a woman who expressed angst at being charged Connecticut’s new 10cent fee for a paper bag, after shelling out more than $1,000 for a Canada Goose coat at the new Bloomingdale’s.
Thea Tsiranides, owner of Salon Etre on Washington Street and cofounder of the Norwalk Academy beauty school, noted for her part she is happy to be able to drive by what is becoming a bustling center, versus the vacant lot that yawned for more than a decade at the entrance to South Norwalk.
“I applaud the SoNo Collection for recognizing the greatness of Norwalk and taking the chance to do something different in our city,” Tsiranides wrote on Facebook. “Jobs, event space, green space, art and music . ... Give it a chance as it is just about finished and have compassion for what it takes to put together a project of this size.”