Mall Owners Again Present New Plans To Save Milford Mall

MILFORD, CT — The owners of the Connecticut Post Mall are once again pitching a plan that would result in major changes to the state's largest mall.

At a meeting held earlier this month before the Planning and Zoning Board, mall officials including Steven Levin, Founder and CEO of Centennial Properties, and Jon Meshel, Senior Vice President of Development, were present along with their attorney, John Knuff, of Milford.

The proposal still featured a maximum of 300 residential units for the entire zone, a 5-story/85’ height limit for residential buildings, and a minimum residential parcel size of 4 acres, noting that any residential use would be incorporated closely into the mall.

There have been six new revisions to the original proposal:

• Multifamily residential in mixed-use buildings
• Plaza area required with multifamily area featuring landscape and hardscape
• Mixed-use building with multifamily must be directly adjacent to the mall
• High quality pedestrian-friendly design with significant building transparency
• Sustainability principles
• Expanded list of desirable special permit uses

Levin said recent weather events including a tropical storm created some lower-level damage to the mall. He stressed that he is not asking for incentives from Milford unlike other mall properties in other areas. He said the goal is to make the space currently owned more valuable.

He said his group has the "passion, timeline, and expertise to successfully redevelop the mall in several phases, the first of which would take approximately 10 years," according to meeting minutes.

He displayed renderings of the plaza design that would be the new anchor for a modern park-like setting activated by music, art-walks, performances, and other attractions drawn from the local arts and educational community.

He said the goal would also be to attract office, research, and medical uses in addition to the retail and restaurants currently there.

He said Phase 1 will start a narrative of change and progress to anchor new uses that will maintain and increase the tax base for the city. He said the site will dominate the trade area in the greater region while providing cultural community.

He stressed that there will be no threat of competition with downtown or other parts of Milford, but rather, the site will attract visitors from the wider regional area. He underscored that the board’s previous comments were heard and incorporated in the new proposal.

He stressed that Phase 1 will proceed into Phase 2 in an orderly, planned way. He said the return is long-term, not short-term at this pivotal time. He emphasized that he has not asked for breaks or concessions from the city.

He said there is a time pressure at work now and Centennial wants to get underway. He said tenants will not commit to remain on these sites unless the site owner commits first.

Meshel said it’s vital to attract new tenants and the regulation change is crucial to this undertaking.

Knuff reviewed the details of the regulation amendment request. He said there is new incorporation of outdoor dining for all types of eateries, the addition of new uses including educational uses ranging from all types of schools to daycares, libraries or other community/public buildings, innovation-incubator type uses that might require light, enclosed, indoor manufacturing or assembly, and planned elderly community use.

Mall officials sought an immediate vote on their revised plans but the PZB decided to wait for another meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 21.