Frustration is continuing to build in Enfield. Several maintenance issues at the Enfield Square Mall have left town leaders looking for answers. With several vacant stores, some have fallen into disrepair.
The relationship between Enfield and mall ownership has also been breaking down.
After a partial ceiling collapse last year in a major part of the Enfield Square Mall, city officials say efforts to remedy the problem led to disappointment with the Namdar Realty Group, which owns the mall.
“We called them to tell them, you have a hole that is big enough to drive a car through in the Macy’s Men’s store and got no response,” Enfield Town Manager Ellen Zoppo-Sassu said.
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After weeks with no response, the town said it repaired the damage themselves. Now there are more issues - a dysfunctional fire alert system in the vacant Macy’s space.
“The code requires that they fix it within four hours. It has been six weeks,” Zoppo-Sassu said.
Zoppo-Sassu said it wasn’t until she informed major tenants of the possibility of shutting down the mall, that something was finally done. Now for the past two weeks, contractors have installed a fire wall and have worked to repair the system.
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A representative of Namdar issued a statement that read in part:
”We want to assure the community that we are taking this matter seriously and the safety and well-being of our visitors, tenants and staff are of utmost importance, and we are working diligently to ensure that all systems are up and running optimally.”
While work continues, tenants wait anxiously to see how the relationship between the town and mall continues to evolve.
“We just don’t know really what’s going on between the town and us so we’re just trying to figure everything out,” said owner of Galaxy Pops and Beyond Rob Merrill.
Despite the repairs that are ongoing, the town manager and the tenants here want to make sure that people know that the mall is open, and business is welcome.
As it stands, the relationship between Enfield and the ownership group is becoming strained. Hanging outside the Enfield Square Mall is a “For Sale” sign, and that’s exactly what the town wants owners Namdar Realty to do.
“The potential is huge, and I believe that the taxpayers in this town deserve a partner that is going to make this an asset to the town and not an albatross,” Zoppo-Sassu said.
Selling the property though, seems uncertain. The ownership group said it's working toward transforming the property into mixed use space. They issued a statement that read in part:
“We’re exploring all options, prioritizing the safety and integrity of the existing mall as we plan its redevelopment.”
While the property is ‘listed’ for sale, Enfield Town Manager thinks the listing price is too high.
“I believe they think it’s worth about $21 million,” she said. “I think it’s worth closer to 10.”
Meanwhile, mall tenants are in the middle.
“I think everyone is a little bit worried,” Merrill said.
After being displaced from the soon-to-be demolished Eastfield Mall, business owner Arturo Gonzalez faces uncertainty again.
“I’m in the war room so to speak, putting together plan B because of what I experienced,” he said.
The future is murky as tension builds. Town leaders are frustrated with maintenance they’ve had to do and pay for themselves, including repairing a partially collapsed ceiling in the vacant Macy’s space last year. The expenses have led to the town putting a $104,000 lien on the property.
In a recent email to Namdar, Zoppo-Sassu said the relationship between the two is far too gone to be salvaged. Meanwhile, a meeting with tenants is scheduled for next week to address the uncertainty.
