MANSFIELD SCOOP: Update on the East Brook Mall!

Let's do another CT mall check-in! I visited Mansfield's/Willimantic's East Brook Mall at 95 Storrs Road! A small mall featuring a Kohls, Mansfield Movieplex, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, and Michaels.

The mall is one of the smallest in CT, with only around 250,000 squarefeet of retail space. The mall opened in 1975, with a Caldor, A&P, and Sage-Allen. The mall is located between two large colleges, UConn and Eastern Connecticut State University.

The outdoor portion of the mall is doing well; seemed very busy in the shopping center portion with TJ Maxx, Old Navy, and Michaels. The interior portion of the mall is timewarped back to the 90's. There are a few vacancies; but has a healthy line up with Papa Gino's/D'Angelos, Frog Bridge Gymnastics and Ninja, Asian Bistro, East Brook Fitness, EBM Liquors, Famous Footwear, Nail Salon, Mansfield Multiplex, Armed Forces Recruitment Center, an arcade, and Gamestop.

The inteior could use some rejuvenation; including a few new shops; but was fairly busy especially near the movie theater. The mall has added new tenants in the last few years including Old Navy, Sally Beauty Supply, Frog Bridge Gymnastics, and East Brook Fitness in the former Cardio Express. The mall currently has around an 11% vacancy rate, slightly above the US average of 10.3%.

The area around the mall is seeing some new additions as well. Directly across from East Brook Mall; a new multi-tenant building is under construction. This space will be home to Five Guys, Chipotle, and Aspen Dental; right next to The Hoot Gifts. Just down the street, The Fresh Monkee, LLC opened their newest location inside Big Y Plaza at 135 Storrs Road!
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What would you like to see open in this mall? Do you think the interior of this mall could thrive again? Comment Below!