Walking through some Connecticut malls today can be a depressing experience: vacant storefronts, shuttered anchor stores, rundown exteriors and empty parking lots abound.
The shift to e-commerce, accelerated and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has turned some of these once bustling centers of commerce into shadows of their former selves.
But can these one-time seemingly invincible retail titans be brought back to life, even in the face of the growing popularity of Amazon and other online commerce sites?
The Day - Groton, Respler begin negotiations; developer s letter released - News from southeastern Connecticut theday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Groton The town said it is giving Respler Homes 30 days to fulfill obligations outlined in the development agreement for the Mystic Education Center or the town will consider terminating the agreement with the developer.
Attorneys for the town and for Respler Homes recently exchanged letters and are at odds over each other’s responsibilities for the proposed redevelopment process outlined in the development agreement for the former Mystic Oral School property.
Respler Homes’ attorney had sent a letter on July 13 requesting that the town file a proposed zoning amendment application for the property “as soon as reasonably possible.” Without a zoning amendment, it said, the developer is at a standstill and cannot finalize its development plan. The attorney claimed the development agreement outlines that the town is responsible for changing its zoning regulations, subject to reasonable conditions and approvals, for the project.
Law Firm Of Pullman & Comley Recognized By Chambers USA patch.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from patch.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Downtown Hartford’s major office buildings remain relatively deserted compared to pre-pandemic times, which creates potential problems for building owners.
“It makes it harder to lease additional space because it looks like a ghost town,” said Gary B. O’Connor, a commercial real estate attorney at Pullman & Comley. “[Owners] want the tenants to come back.”
Image
Gary B. O’Connor
Hartford’s largest office landlord, Shelbourne Global Solutions, certainly wants its tenants to start beckoning workers back to the workplace as soon as possible, said Benjamin Schlossberg, managing member of the New York-based realty company.
“We need to keep our buildings full, occupied and vibrant and it’s hard to do if people aren’t at work,” Schlossberg said. “For us it’s a real urgency.”