Walmart invests $44.5 million in Connecticut shopping center 

Bentonville-based Walmart has acquired a shopping mall property in Norwalk, Conn., making it the retailer’s third mall property deal in 2025. Other retailers in the mall include Ulta, and restaurants Panera Bread and Qdoba, according to the release.

“The amount of interest in this center was substantial. With several options to consider, Walmart stepped up with the best overall offer,” Jeff Kintzer, principal of Royal Properties, said in a statement.

Kintzer represented the seller in the transaction. The Norwalk mall has 165,409 square feet of shopping space on 11.14 acres.

The deal comes after Walmart invested more than $73.6 million in two other properties in Pennsylvania earlier this year – the Bethel Park Shopping Center for $34 million, and the Monroeville Mall for $39.6 million.

Walmart has not yet revealed plans for the Norwalk and Bethel Park centers, but it has indicated plans to demolish the Monroeville Mall and redevelop the property. South Saturn Ridge LLC, a limited liability company owned by Walmart, applied for a state grant this summer. In the grant application, Walmart noted it hoped to modernize the space into a mixed-use destination and be part of future development.

Walmart isn’t the only Arkansas-based retailer in the mall ownership business. Little Rock-based Dillard’s in August acquired a shopping mall in Longview, Texas, for $34 million. The deal was a partnership with real estate development firm Trademark. Trademark oversees the leasing and management of Longview Mall on behalf of the new ownership group.

Besides Dillard’s, the mall tenants include J.C. Penney, HomeGoods, Bath & Body Works, Foot Locker, Dick’s Sporting Goods, H&M, Kay Jewelers, as well as Chick-fil-A and Chuck E. Cheese.

Dillard’s CEO William Dillard II said in August that Longview is a strong retail market and the retailer looked forward to building upon a successful, long-term relationship with Trademark.

Total Retail, a Philadelphia-based retail industry trade publication, reports that the number of U.S. malls has dropped from around 2,500 in the 1980s to about 700 in early 2025. But the April 2025 report^[1] suggests that mall traffic is on an upswing.

“Yet, over the past two years, mall traffic has grown steadily and significantly, with the Mall of America reporting that its foot traffic increased 11 percent per month in 2024,” noted the Total Retail report.

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