The Milford Planning & Zoning Board has denied a proposal for a regulation change which would have cleared the way for a residential community at the Connecticut Post Mall site.
Centennial Real Estate, a Dallas, Texas company which has owned the mall since 2015, wants to invest $70 million to build a luxury residential community on its property.
For the project to proceed, board members had to agree to amend the local zoning regulations, but the panel decided against it this week, city officials said.
Jon Meshel, senior vice president, development for Centennial, has called the project “critically important for the future of the Connecticut Post Mall.”
“Centennial is disappointed that our proposal did not receive the support of the Milford Planning & Zoning Board,” Meshel said after the meeting. “We will continue evaluating our options for the property.”
Julie Nash, Milford’s director of economic development, said it isn’t the last the city will hear of the proposal.
“It didn’t feel fleshed out enough to the board,” Nash said. “I’m hoping we can get to a place where it is, and we can move forward with this project.”
During public hearings, the project got mixed reviews, with some saying it could bring new energy to the area. Detractors cited concerns about traffic, density and not wanting to have a residential use at that location.
Centennial wanted to put the residential project on a corner of the parcel, rather than inside the existing mall’s footprint. According to the applicant, unless mall owners and brick and mortar retailers evolve successfully, they risk disappearing and bringing tax dollars and jobs with them.
Meshel has told New Haven BIZ that malls were struggling due to online shopping trends before COVID, which has only made the situation worse. In order to be successful, he said malls will need to become “modern mixed-use projects.”
According to Centennial, the Connecticut Post Mall has experienced a 20% drop in visitors over the past five years.
The mall is home to anchor stores such as Target, Macy’s and Boscov’s, but tenants like Sears and JC Penney have left.
Centennial proposed to put 300 apartments in a 4-story residential building located on the southeast corner of the mall’s parking lot. The development would have had approximately 135 one-bedroom units, 135 two-bedroom units and 30 three-bedroom units.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.