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The What

The What: Norwalk’s SoNo Collection Is Up for Sale; Stamford’s Budget Hearing; and more

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of April 6.

The What: Norwalk’s SoNo Collection Is Up for Sale; Stamford’s Budget Hearing; and more
Happy first full week of April! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, April 6

Hope everyone who celebrated had a blessed and safe Easter and Passover. We’re also excited to cheer on UCONN tonight in the NCAA men’s championship game. Let’s see what else is happening this week.  

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

When it was under construction in 2017 and 2018, some joked that the SoNo Collection would be “the last mall built in America.” Now about seven years after it opened its doors in 2019, the mall is up for sale. 

The property, located just off I-95, includes about 12 acres and about 738,800 square feet of “leasable area.” JLL Capital Markets, which is advising on the sale, said the property has a “compelling tenant mix,” and an occupancy rate of 86%. 

“The property presents an exceptional opportunity for a new owner to acquire a dominant retail destination at a compelling basis, while executing a thoughtful re-merchandising strategy to unlock embedded value across the remaining vacancy and property,” a statement from JLL reads. 

But it's a tough economic time for commercial properties. And the SoNo Collection isn’t just a small property—it’s one of the highest valued properties in Norwalk. As a part of the 2023 revaluation, the city found the appraised value of the property was $224,956,130 and its assessed value, or 70% of that, to be $157,469,290. The assessed value is what the property owner pays taxes on. Still, that value is down significantly from when it was first built. Following the 2019 revaluation, the mall was appraised at $385 million, with an assessed value of $269.5 million. The lower assessment came at a time when the city saw commercial property values decrease, while residential property values increased, shifting more of the tax burden onto residents.

So let’s take a deep dive into the mall: how it came to be, what it’s like today, and what this could mean. You could also check out our video highlighting what the mall looks like today. 

@coastalconnecticuttimes

The SoNo Collection is on the market, about seven years after the mall first opened its doors. While officials say the mall boasts an 86% occupancy rate and still has many of the retailers it opened with like Nordstrom’s, Apple, Sephora, and more, there have been some big name closings—YardHouse and Pinstripes—in a tough market for commercial properties. We’ll have more in our newsletter on Monday. You can subscribe at the link in our bio. #norwalkct #fairfieldcounty #sonocollection #connecticut #CapCut

♬ original sound - Coastal Connecticut Times

This Week at a Glance

This section aims to highlight the most important meetings and news taking place each week.

Plan Your Week

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Stamford

Norwalk

Fairfield

Greenwich

  • Wednesday, April 8: BET Debt & Fund Balance Policy Committee at 10 a.m. | Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals at 7 p.m.
  • Thursday, April 9: Board of Selectmen at 10:30 a.m. | Conservation Commission at 7 p.m. 

Darien

Westport

Stay in touch!

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Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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