Milford Mall Apartment Plans Rejected By Board: Report

MILFORD, CT — The future of Connecticut's largest mall is now in doubt after the city's Planning and Zoning Board voted against the owner of the Connecticut Post Mall's plan to construct a $75 million luxury apartment complex.

The Milford Mirror reports that the vote against a request for a regulation change to allow for the apartments failed by a 5 to 3 vote. Just prior to the vote, Steven Levin, founder and CEO of Centennial Real Estate, made an impassioned plea for the plans to be approved, saying that no one wants the mall to die, the Mirror reported.

Milford officials, including Mayor Ben Blake, have been adamantly opposed to the residential plans and instead have advocated for an office or biotech use. (Read the full Milford Mirror story here).

In a recent interview with Patch, mall officials said, "Failure to allow this first-class investment will prevent the mall from stabilizing and could be the end of the property as an enclosed mall. Failure to invest now could cause the property to be one of the malls that does not survive the shakeout."

Levin has said there are no more big retailers to recruit to fill the ever-growing empty spaces. He said that is why the company is deciding to be ambitious with its 300-unit apartment complex, which includes a gym and pool on the mall property.

The mall is Milford's largest taxpayer, contributing $3.8 million annually. That would increase to $5.1 million if the residential plans are approved. Levin has said without this apartment project, the value of the mall will continue to decline and that $3.8 million tax figure will continue to erode.

The pland calls for luxury, market-rate apartments in a five-story building with an anticipated mix of 135 one-bedroom units, 135 two-bedroom units and 30 three-bedroom units. Plans include a pool and fitness center for the residents. The residential complex would be located on the southeast corner of the mall's parking lot.

Sears and J.C. Penney's, two iconic realtors, have closed in recent years, along with numerous other smaller retailers, and the taxable assessed value of the mall property has declined from $176 million in 2010 to $149 million now.

The Connecticut Post Mall has experienced a 20 percent drop in visitors over the past five years, officials said.

Other retailers that have left the mall recently include: Justice, Payless, Hallmark, Red Robin, Charlotte Russe, New York & Company, Bar Louie, Abercrombie & Fitch, Yankee Candle and GNC.

These are financial impacts of the apartment plans to Milford and state if it is approved:

• An estimated $1.21 million in new combined real and personal property tax revenues, a 28% increase
• The community will generate an estimated $1.2 million increase in local consumer spending
• The residential community at Connecticut Post will generate an estimated $3.48 million in wages in the first year
• An estimated 372 new jobs will be generated/sustained during construction with approximately 117 permanent jobs generated/ sustained

If the apartments are built, it may add up to 36 additional school-age children. In 2008, Milford schools had 7,400 pupils enrolled and that number is currently at 5,500.

Mall officials estimate that even with the additional use of city services, the development would generate an additional $251,000 to $640,000 annually for Milford. Levin said most importantly, this development will stabilize the city's largest taxpayer for now and into the future.

"The economic impacts include approximately $34.8 million in wages and an estimated $4,950,000 in discretionary spending of which $1,237,500 will be within Milford," officials said.