Danbury Fair Mall Gets Zoning Approval to Add Apartments

According to an article from the Danbury Patch, a proposal is in the works from Danbury Mall LLC asking for an amendment to city zoning regulations to allow 140 or more apartments to be built inside the 75,000 square feet space that Lord & Taylor once occupied.

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Danbury's Planning Director, Sharon Calitro, had given the rezoning proposal the green light, and according to Hearst CT Media, Danbury's Zoning Commission has approved the request, which gives the mall permission to add non-traditional tenants, such as apartments inside the empty Lord & Taylor space.

The 37-year-old Danbury Fair is still one of Connecticut's most successful malls, and to pave the way for Danbury Fair's future, it needs to evolve into a "24-hour environment," according to the 12-page rezoning request. No need to panic shoppers! Retail stores would also be included as part of Danbury Fair's future.

Besides the new apartments inside the vacant Lord & Taylor space, other suggestions that could be included in Danbury Fair's "24-hour environment" are an adult day care center, an assembly hall for banquets and dancing, a college campus, an ice rink, a swimming pool, a library, a museum, a nursery school, and a hotel and maybe even a hospital!

The question was posed on the Connecticut Reddit page, "Will the Danbury Fair Mall become home to apartments, an elementary school, or a veterinary office? The following are some of the comments:

"This reeks of mall owners/operators looking to cash in on real estate. If it's anything like what they're doing by the Trumbull mall, then it's a stupid idea. I'd love to see the US adopt the Dutch approach to urban planning. Unfortunately, there's too much corruption, nepotism, and self-interest for that to ever happen."  

"I heard it would be a bottomless vortex run by witches."

"Dibs on the studio apt where they sold vacuums in the old Sears"