Electronics retailer Best Buy will move into a 18,489-square-foot retail space in Waterbury’s Brass Mill Common’s shopping complex, as property owner Summit Properties works to fill vacancies and reshape the plaza’s tenant lineup.
New York-based Summit, owner of the 196,496-square-foot open-air shopping plaza at 235 Union St., confirmed Best Buy is on track to open in the former Michaels craft store location sometime early in the third quarter of this year.
The arrival comes amid turnover in the plaza, with a TGI Friday’s location closing and a pending withdrawal of longtime anchor Barnes & Noble later this month.
Summit plans to knock down the TGI Friday’s location and replace it with a new pad site for a Raising Cane’s chicken restaurant at some point this year.
Summit Chief Operating Officer Denis Nezaj said the timing of the restaurant’s arrival is uncertain. Summit is working with the city and the restaurant to arrange the demolition and construction.
“Every single party involved is doing their best to streamline things and get this to the finish line,” Nezaj said.
Nezaj said Summit is speaking with several tenants interested in occupying the roughly 22,000-square-foot space being vacated by Barnes & Noble.
“Our strategy is not just to keep tenants in place, but to keep the right tenants for this market,” Nezaj said.
In 2022, Summit partnered with New York investor Mehran Kohansieh in a $26 million purchase of the Brass Mill Commons and an $18.9 million purchase of the neighboring Brass Mill Center Mall. While the Commons has generally performed well, the far larger mall has struggled to hold tenants.
Waterbury Economic Development Director Joseph McGrath said the city is happy with the tenants it sees moving into the Commons.
“This is bringing the confidence level back up,” McGrath said. “It’s bringing diversity and life back to the Commons.”
