The Shoppes at Buckland Hills facts for kids
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Mall interior, 2018
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| Location | Manchester, Connecticut |
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| Coordinates | 41°48′25″N 72°32′43″W / 41.80694°N 72.54528°W |
| Opening date | 1990 |
| Developer | Homart Development Company |
| Management | Brookfield Properties Retail Group |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties Retail Group |
| No. of stores and services | about 145 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 (5 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,180,000 sq ft (110,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, formerly and commonly known as Buckland Hills Mall is a shopping mall located in Manchester, Connecticut and is currently owned by Brookfield Properties Retail Group.
The Shoppes at Buckland Hills is located off I-84, near the intersection of I-291.
History
John Finguerra, with his business partner, Richard Ripps, planned the mall in 1972. Finguerra worked for JCPenney, which at the time had a 2,000,000-square-foot (190,000 m2) warehouse nearby, once used for their now-defunct catalog business.
Finguerra's familiarity with local economic factors led him to believe that a regional mall would be successful. The location selected for the mall was elevated and overlooked a valley, and was close to an interstate highway, which would enable traffic flow to the mall, and future developments in the corridor.
The mall opened in 1990, and was called the "Pavilions at Buckland". The mall was successful, and new businesses in the surrounding area developed. A multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of the mall was completed in October 2003, and the name was changed first to "Buckland Hills Mall", and then to "The Shoppes at Buckland Hills".
Design/Tenants
The main building has an area of 1,180,000 square feet (110,000 m2) on two floors. However, the name "Buckland Hills Mall"' can informally refer to the mall plus the cluster of surrounding retail stores, hotels, and restaurants on the hill, totaling nearly 6,000,000 square feet (560,000 m2) or 1/4 square mile.
There are approximately 145 shops and eateries in the mall, as well as five anchor stores, including Macy's (originally G. Fox, later Filene's), Macy's Men's, Children's, Juniors, and Furniture (originally Steiger's, later Lord & Taylor, then Filene's Men's, Children's, Juniors, and Furniture), JCPenney, which opened in 1992, Dick's Sporting Goods (originally Sage-Allen), and Barnes & Noble with one vacant anchor last occupied by Sears. In 2006, Newbury Comics opened its first Connecticut store inside the mall. There was once a D&L (Davidson & Leventhal) department store below the food court, which later became Filene's Men's Store and is now various shops and restaurants.
On November 13, 2020, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 7 stores nationwide. The store closed on January 24, 2021. It was the last Sears department store in Connecticut.
