The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, formerly and commonly known as Buckland Hills Mall is a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located in

Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester (CDP), Connecticut, Manchester census- ...

and is currently owned by Spinoso Real Estate Group. The mall is currently anchored by the traditional chains

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

Bob's Stores Bob's Stores is a chain of retail stores in the northeastern United States owned by GoDigital Media Group. Founded as Bob's Surplus in Middletown, Connecticut, by Robert "Bob" Lapidus in 1954, the chain expanded gradually until it was acquired by ...

, and Barnes & Noble while featuring the prominent traditional brands Aeropostale, Charlotte Russe, Express, Forever 21, H&M,

Build-A-Bear Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals and characters. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choic ...

Newbury Comics Newbury Comics is an American comic book and music retailer based in New England. Newbury Comics began as a comic book vendor on Newbury Street in Boston. The company was founded in 1978 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students John B ...

, and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. The Shoppes at Buckland Hills is located off

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts) Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...

, near the intersection of I-291.

History

John Finguerra, with his business partner, Richard Ripps, planned the mall in 1972. Finguerra worked for

, which at the time had a 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".

In Popular Culture

The mall was the location for the music video "

Miracles Happen (When You Believe) "Miracles Happen (When You Believe)" is a song by American singer Myra. It was the first single from her 2001 self-titled album '' Myra''. The song was used in the 2001 Disney film ''The Princess Diaries''. In 2002, the song was nominated for an A ...

" by Myra from ''

The Princess Diaries ''The Princess Diaries'' is a series of epistolary young adult novels written by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000. The series revolves around Amelia 'Mia' Thermopolis, a teenager in New York who discovers ...

'' in 2001.

Design/Tenants

The main building has an area of 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 or 1/4 square mile. There are approximately 145 shops and eateries in the mall, as well as four anchor stores, including

(originally G. Fox, later

Filene's Filene's (formally William Filene & Sons Co.) was an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-p ...

), Macy's Men's, Children's, Juniors, and Furniture (originally Steiger's, later

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

, then Filene's Men's, Children's, Juniors, and Furniture),

, which opened in 1992, and Barnes & Noble with two vacant anchors last occupied by Dick's Sporting Goods (originally

Sage-Allen Sage-Allen was a mid-market department store chain based in Hartford, Connecticut. The store was a fixture in southern New England and anchored a number of smaller local and regional shopping centers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and, later, Ne ...

) and

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

. In 2006,

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 April 17, 2018, the

Bertucci's Bertucci's is an American chain of restaurants offering pizza and Italian food. It also offers delivery (from some stores), take-out and private dining. Bertucci's was founded by Joey Crugnale in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1981 ...

closed as part of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. The early 2020's saw multiple traditional chain anchors update their brick-and-mortar fleets after being disrupted by digital retailers in recent years. On November 13, 2020, it was announced that Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing plan to phase out of brick-and-mortar. Potential replacement tenants have been rumored in discussion since 2021. In April 2021, Dick's Sporting Goods, transitioned to a store at a nearby plaza and was reconstructed to feature

and

Eastern Mountain Sports Eastern Mountain Sports (or EMS) is an outdoor clothing and equipment retailer in the Northeastern United States headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut. EMS sells outdoor equipment and clothing from both name brands and its own EMS line. The compa ...

. Bob's Stores opened on November 23, 2022, while Eastern Mountain Sports is expected to open in spring 2023. In 2021, a Crab Du Jour restaurant opened. However, only a year later, on October 21, 2022, the restaurant permanently closed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shoppes At Buckland Hills Shopping malls in Connecticut Economy of Manchester, Connecticut Shopping malls established in 1990 Buildings and structures in Hartford County, Connecticut Tourist attractions in Hartford County, Connecticut 1990 establishments in Connecticut