JCPenney - Connecticut Post Mall - Milford, CT

JCPenney - Connecticut Post Mall - Milford, CT

  February 20, 2018    Robby S.

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Image of the now closed JCPenney ©CT Post

JCPENNEY
1201 BOSTON POST ROAD
MILFORD, CONN
CLOSED JULY 31 2017

The JCPenney at the Connecticut Post Mall (Formerly Westfield Shoppingtown Connecticut Post) was situated on the south side of the mall and sat directly across from it's most direct competitor Macy's.

In recent years, Connecticut Post Mall has experienced a rapid turnover in it's anchor stores so just to keep things simple here's a quick rundown:



The mall's first anchor to go by the wayside was a lesser known clothing retailer Steve and Barry's. They closed their Milford location in 2009 when their entire chain filed for bankruptcy [Fun Fact: There was a very visible S&B labelscar for quite some time after its closure].

The labelscar still on the building (2017, ©Google)

2011 saw the loss of Border's (the owner of Waldenbooks), a large-scale book store that filed for bankruptcy that same year.

A few years later in 2013, BuyBuyBaby opened in the former Steve and Barry's location but would close its doors after five short years in 2017 (Just after JCPenney closed). The structure was destroyed after BBB left and is now undergoing reconstruction into a Dave & Buster's.

JCPenney announced they would be closing their under-performing Milford store as part of a 140-store cutback in 2017 to save money. The closure would displace almost 90 employees and would vacate almost 95,000 square feet of retail space. As of writing (February 20, 2018), the property is undergoing renovation to become a Boscov's which currently only has one Connecticut location in Meriden. This is confirmed on Boscov's website, which has Milford listed as a future store location

©Boscov's

JCPenney occupied the south side of the mall, sitting in between Target and Sears and across from Macy's. The property was pretty distinctive, featuring three glass pyramids at the top of its facade. The only changes made to the exterior is the removal of the 'JCPenney' signage, which has since left some pretty ambiguous labelscarring.

Some construction vehicles on the outside of the former JCPenney

Peering into the store... Construction workers were in the way but I have a slightly better picture later on.

A quite ambiguous labelscar... Hard to tell its from JCPenney

The main receiving dock which was stationed directly to the left of the front of the store (between JCP and the Green Parking Garage)

Look closely! There's another labelscar on the wall to the right above the dumpster

A secondary receiving dock on the left side of the store.

The interior JCPenney entrance area was left completely open. For those of you going to visit, the closest entrance is entrance #6, which is just to the left of JCPenney... Of course you also could just enter through the store (once Boscov's opens).

Right off the bat when entering, you could tell where JCPenney once was on the overhead signs. The slots are clearly left open since its closure.

This sign is interesting as it once held signs for both JCPenney and BuyBuyBaby. As you can see, both slots are vacant. Which went where? I don't know.

Looking into JCPenney's entrance lobby.

The first floor entrance to JCP

There was a little crack in between the doors where I was able to stick my phone in, so here's another peep of the inside

Inside view of JCP. That sealed area on the right would have been the small Sephora outlet that many JCP locations offered.

A clearer view of the Customer Service sign. This style sign is still commonly used in many JCP locations.

Okay now here's something fun... Let's do a before and after comparison of the 1st floor entrance:

BEFORE:

©CT Post

AFTER:

As I mentioned earlier, there wasn't much done to the exterior parts of the store besides the removal of some signage. I would image Boscov's will simply throw their signage up over the facade.

An up-close image of the labelscar JCP left behind

The right side of the first floor interior facade

Looking out into the mall from the first floor JCP lobby. Notice Macy's directly across.

Now let's take a look upstairs on the 2nd floor lobby

Looking out from the 2nd Floor JCP Lobby

Thank you for shopping at Green Parking Garage?

Some more remnants of JCPenney were scattered throughout the mall property. Most notably, a visible labelscar was present on the signs outside the mall that directed traffic to each of the anchor stores. Both scars for JCPenney and BuyBuyBaby were present. 'JCPenney' was written in the top empty spot and 'Buy Buy Baby' was written on the bottom. Look closely and you'll see it!

Anyways, that about sums up the former JCPenney that occupied space in the Connecticut Post Mall. There's quite a bit left over after its closure, and I'll be sure to follow up when the new Boscov's opens..

Until next time,