The owners of Enfield Square are preparing to present a redevelopment plan for the mall.
There are three "concepts" being considered by the town and the mall's owner, the Namdar Realty Group, according to the Enfield Economic Development Commission (EDC). These concepts aren't public.
That something is in the works for Enfield Square came to light in January when the town surveyed residents for their opinions on the mall redevelopment. The ideas in this survey ranged from strip malls and big-box plazas to concepts that combined retail, residential, and entertainment. They also included high-density development, with parking garages and buildings as high as eight stories.
The EDC's minutes from May reveal this:
-- The "concept plan" for the mall was expected to be submitted in early June, and a progress meeting with the state and mall owner was set for around that time.
-- The Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) will approve the concept, or in other words, the future of the Enfield Square property.
-- The "public will be allowed to weigh in on three alternatives, and the town will have the opportunity to select one," according to the minutes.
-- The minutes are unclear about the proposal, described at one point as a "mixed-use development." [Mixed-use usually means a combination of retail, medical, recreational, commercial offices, and sometimes residential.]
-- The concepts "will be unveiled to the public in late June."
For many decades, Enfield Square, which opened in 1971, was our town center. (Enfield Mall opened in 1969 and also served that role. It was later converted to a strip mall.) The post-war (WWII) population never considered Thompsonville the center of town. They wanted the new and modern and that was our two malls. Enfield's population increased dramatically in the 1950s through the 1970s with the rapid growth of single-family housing developments, but for the past four decades, our population growth has flatlined and recently declined.
The closing of Enfield Square's big retailers has hurt our community's self-image. We don't have a place that serves as a downtown that enables people to walk to entertainment and shopping. That Target, the movie theater, and some retail remain in the mall is a plus, but it's not enough. We need a place that works like a downtown.
Many of the ideas outlined in the survey appear to involve demolishing much of the mall.
But some of the concepts in the survey are very attractive. A mix of residential, entertainment like brewpubs and even indoor sports, along with a continuation of the theater.
Over the past four or five decades, Enfield's economic development track record has been miserable. Strip malls dominate us. It's dangerous and impossible to bike or walk anywhere in our commercial district. Nothing feels connected, and everything is car-dependent.
The world is changing. Today people want to live and thrive in walkable and attractive commercial environments. Will it be different this time for Enfield? We are about to find out.
