The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
KMART OUT, SHOPRITE IN
Business changes: Officials hopeful loss of department store, a staple for 43 years, will be filled by ShopRite
CROMWELL >> It was almost a week into the new year and 2017 already wasn’t shaping up the way town officials hoped it would.
They had already been informed the state was reneging on a promised $84,102 in Education Cost Sharing funds that had been budgeted last spring.
When town officials came to work Thursday, they were greeted with the news the Kmart store at 45 Shunpike Road, a fixture in town for decades, was closing. But then, with one telephone call, the picture abruptly became markedly brighter. The call was made by Town Planner Stuart Popper, who also functions as economic development coordinator.
Popper called the owners of the Cromwell Square Shopping Plaza, where Kmart is located. He had been in regular communication with the plaza’s owners since the Xpect Discounts store adjacent to Kmart closed its doors last spring.
During those discussions, Popper was made aware a potential tenant was anxious to take over the Xpect site — but also needed part of the Kmart property to make its plan work. The Xpect store space consists of 33,820 square feet, while the Kmart building measures 98,790 square feet, according to data provided by Deputy Assessor Michael P. Mordarski. When Popper spoke to of-
ficials at the Greenwich-based H.B. Nitkin Group just before 10 a.m. Thursday, he was told a contract had been signed to bring a ShopRite supermarket to Cromwell. “They have signed a lease for all of Xpect and a portion of Kmart,” an exuberant Popper said late Thursday afternoon.
Popper said he is not sure yet of the exact size of the new supermarket but estimated it would be “in the range of 50,000 to 60,000 square feet.” Popper said Nitkin is “working to fill the rest of the site.”
“They are aggressively negotiating with additional tenants,” Popper said as he sat with Mayor Enzo Faienza and Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore in Salvatore’s Town Hall office Thursday.
Both officials were elated at the news of ShopRite’s coming to town. At the same time, they acknowledged “a sense of loss” about Kmart closing. “It’s been a staple in our town,” Faienza said. “Forty-three years ago, when I moved here, it was one of the first stores I went to.
“So anytime you lose a business that been part of the town for so many years, there is a sense of loss and of history,” Faienza said.
He also expressed concern about the Kmart employees who will lose their jobs. The Kmart store is slated to close by the end of March, Popper said. However, having ShopRite coming to town means residents will have another shopping option — as well as the possibility of new jobs for some of the laid-off Kmart employees and other residents, Faienza said.
He described the announcement as “a win-win for the town.”
Cromwell already has two supermarkets: an 80,696-square-foot Stop & Shop, located at 195 West St., just across Route 372/ Berlin Road from the Kmart site, and a 31,024-squarefoot PriceRite supermarket at 136 Berlin Road, in the Cromwell Commons Shopping Center.
In addition, the WalMart Supercenter at 161 Berlin Road has a grocery/bakery/ deli department. There are 26 ShopRites in Connecticut, including stores in Clinton and Wallingford.
“I’m really excited,” said Salvatore, adding that Cromwell is becoming a regional shopping destination. “Not only we will have a new tenant — with the probability of other tenants — but they are going to be looking at expanding the parking lot, redoing the exterior of the building and adding new lighting,” the manager said.
“We’re always looking to attract business to Cromwell. Our doors are open to assist businesses that want to come to Cromwell,” he said.
“We’re also working with existing businesses that want to expand,” Popper added.
Since taking over as mayor, Faienza has initiated a series of business tours for members of the Town Council. “Those tours have been huge,” Faienza said, “and a lot of them are about maintaining what we already have here. We don’t ever forget that existing businesses are the backbone of our town, whether they are small, medium or large.”
The arrival of ShopRite will help boost the town’s tax revenues, the town’s assessor said.
“With Kmart leaving, we’re probably only losing about $8,000 in personal property taxes,” Assessor Shawa M. Baron said Thursday.
“Most of the equipment (in the store) is old and has depreciated,” Baron said. “The new tenant is probably going modernize the property, so long term, it’s probably going to be a better thing for the town of Cromwell.”
Kmart’s closing is just one part of a seismic post-Christmas wave that has washed over brick-and-mortar retailing as more and more Americans turn to shopping online. Kmart is owned by Sears, which announced it was closing 150 Sears and Kmart stores in addition to selling its signature Craftsman tools line to Stanley Black & Decker.
Macy’s also announced it was closing 68 stores and laying off 10,000 employees in the wake of sluggish Christmas sales.