Nordstrom Rack to Fill 35,000 Square Foot Hole at West Farms

The old Linens N Things space, which has been vacant at West Farms Shopping Center for years, will soon be filled by the state’s first Nordstorm Rack, the company announced recently.

Nordstrom Rack is a discount retail division of the Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc., carrying merchandise from the store and Nordstrom.com at 50-60 percent off original prices. Apparel, shoes and accessories are available.

The new store will fill the 35,000 square foot space that Kimco Realty Corporation, which owns the plaza, has been struggling to fill for years. Representatives at Kimco have told the Town Plan and Zoning Commission that the store’s location, set far back off the road, combined with the town’s stringent signage policy, have been a barrier to signing tenants there. The plaza sits in a commercial area on the edge of Farmington, surrounded by strip malls.

Kimco was recently before the commission with a proposal to completely renovate the plaza, which also houses TJMaxx, Sports Authority and Petco. Borders, which announced plans to close its 400 stores July 18, will be vacating the plaza’s other anchor spot after its liquidation sale.

Feature towers over the anchor stores, a traditional color palette featuring red and beige, cloth or canvas awnings and gooseneck lighting are some of the upgrades planned for the plaza.

To close the deal with Nordstrom Rack, Kimco appealed to the commission to push through approval of signage for the Linens N Things space. The commission did so willingly, with only slight hesitation over setting a precedent not appropriate for the rest of the town.

“‘Thank you for updating the facility,” Bill Stanford told Nick Brown of Kimco. “Right now it’s this big mass of gray.”

The town’s sign policy, which some say is a barrier to development, took center stage at the meeting as Kimco asked not only for a set color palette for the plaza but to allow national brand stores to use their own colors and to extend the use of internal illumination.

“I’m sitting here twitching and hoping we can work this out and the lawyer starts talking...,” Kimco's Brown said. “All I know is I’ll lose this if I don’t get something through tonight… This same tenant was here two and a half years ago and walked away from the deal… I don’t want to lose it again. Getting this back [location] will really change the life of the center and stabilize that asset.”

While commission member Barabara Brenneman and chairman James Pogson asked for more specifics on the plan, Phil Dunn objected.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we are not here to micromanage the color of somebody’s sign,” Dunn said. “I don’t know why people aren’t jumping to approve this… I don’t need more details; I just want to see this thing go forward.”

The commission approved Kimco’s request as well as further proposals for the plaza’s facelift.

Nordstrom Rack is expected to open in the spring.