Westfarms

Westfarms
Location 1500 New Britain Ave, West Hartford, CT 06110 (at intersection of I-84 & Route 9)
Opening date 1974
Developer The Taubman Company
Owner The Taubman Company
No. of stores and services 154
No. of anchor tenants 4 (if both locations of Macy's are counted as one anchor); 5 (if both locations of Macy's are counted individually)
Total retail floor area 1,288,000 leaseable area in square feet
No. of floors 2
Parking Outdoor & Garage
Website http://www.shopwestfarms.com

Westfarms, sometimes referred to as Westfarms Mall, is an upscale shopping mall located seven miles (11 km) southwest of Hartford, Connecticut. The mall sits on the town line between Farmington and West Hartford, and takes its name from the two. The mall was developed, and is managed by, The Taubman Company. It is the third largest indoor mall in the state.[1]

Westfarms is located on Connecticut Route 71, not far from the intersection of Interstate 84 and Connecticut Route 9, which both have exits near the mall. The retail strip housing Westfarms is situated between the towns of West Hartford, Farmington, Newington, and New Britain; and is surrounded by additional shopping plazas.

Since 2006, Westfarms has been anchored by Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, and Macy's, which is split into two anchor locations. The mall features more than 160 shops in total. Westfarms offers a mix of stores and restaurants, many of which are unique to the Hartford area including Apple, bebe, Brio Tuscan Grille, California Pizza Kitchen, Coach, J.Crew, P.F. Chang's, Anthropologie, Free People, Brooks Brothers, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton and others.[2]

Unlike many enclosed malls, Westfarms does not feature a common-area food court, but some wings of the mall contain several quick service restaurants such as Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, and Sbarro that are housed in their own storefronts.

History

Westfarms mall opened in 1974 with original anchors JC Penney, G. Fox & Co., and Sage-Allen. The mall was well known for its lavish ceilings and waterfall-style fountains and, just like its sister mall, The Mall at Short Hills in New Jersey (also a Taubman Company owned mall), the designer made sure people could see from one end to the other. The original mall corridor currently connects JCPenney and Macy's Women's and Children.

The first expansion project of the mall took place when Lord & Taylor moved from Bishop's Corner in West Hartford to the back of the mall in the early 1980s. A short, new wing of the mall connected Lord & Taylor to center court, across from Sage Allen.

In 1997, the mall expanded once again and went through renovations when New England's first Nordstrom department store opened. Not only did Nordstrom build a new store, but a new wing of 32 additional stores was added, connecting Nordstrom to the main mall corridor. The second floor of the Nordstrom wing has an entrance to Lord & Taylor's second floor as well.

The G. Fox store converted to its sister Filene's division in 1993. After Sage-Allen went out of business, the Sage-Allen space became the Filene's Men's & Home store in 1995. Both locations are now rebranded as Macy's.

From its grand opening in 1974 until 2002, the mall's center court featured waterfall-style fountains and a small stage area, taking up much of the area. A renovation in 2002 removed all of the water display and gave the space a more open look with a Starbucks Coffee located in the center.

In early 2008, Westfarms announced another renovation to the mall. The main entrance received a facelift as well as introducing new signature dining P.F. Chang's China Bistro, in the former Pizzeria Uno, and Brio Tuscan Grille. Both of these places include outdoor seating, for the summer time. Also, Westfarms brought in upscale stores like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Vera Bradley to replace departed stores like Timberland L'Oréal & FYE.

Anchors

Gallery

External links

References

  1. ↑ http://www.easternct.edu/~pocock/MallsConn.htm
  2. ↑

Coordinates: 41°43′22″N 72°45′48″W / 41.72278°N 72.76333°W / 41.72278; -72.76333

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