Developer Pitches $425-Million Mixed-Use Project At Westbrook Outlets

WESTBROOK, CT — The Westbrook Outlets could be demolished in favor of a massive, $425 million development with 595 apartments, 100 townhomes, a new hotel, restaurants, and entertainment space, according to The Hartford Business Journal.

Lexington Partners is pitching the project for the nearly 50-acre site at 314 Flat Rock Place in Westbrook with construction possibly beginning in 2025.

Making way for the development would require demolishing four retail buildings totaling 257,115 square feet, along with a cinema.

It's estimated that only 25 percent of the Westbrook Outlets shops are occupied. (Read the full story in The Hartford Business Journal.)

Westbrook Cinemas was reopened at the shopping center last year by Shoreline Entertainment at the former home of the Marquee Cinema, which closed due to the impact of the pandemic.

Westbrook Outlets are far from the only retail center facing an uncertain future in the state. Many other shopping centers could soon have residential developments as well.

A developer has plans to convert an abandoned Lord & Taylor space at the Danbury Fair Mall into 144 residential units.

In Milford, the Connecticut Post Mall's owners have gained zoning approval to allow housing on the site. This could come in three phases, with each phase adding 250 residential units.

For the Trumbull Mall, the community is discussing whether the mall could be torn down to make way for housing as well.

At the Crystal Mall in Waterford, several food court restaurants recently closed. The mall has also experienced anchor store closings and was sold at auction last year.

See related: Several Restaurants At Waterford Mall Food Court Close: Report

• Are Apartments In The Cards For Empty Retail Space At Danbury Mall?
• Milford P&Z Approves Connecticut Post Mall Regulation Change
• Town Officials, Residents Discuss Trumbull Mall's Future: Report