Killingly Commons Prepares to Open in Dayville, CT: Lowe's Home Improvement Will Be First Opening

Northeastern Connecticut will soon be home to another major shopping center being built in Dayville, CT expected to compliment and improve existing shopping along the Interstate 395 corridor.

Those passing by the I-395 exit 93 interchange have seen the ongoing construction of several retail buildings as well as a pylon sign advertising the many stores and restaurants that are expected to open later this year.

According to Ceruzzi Holdings and Eastern Retail Properties, the 525,000-square-foot-center to be anchored by Target, Lowe's Home Improvement, Stop and Shop, Petco, Michael's Arts and Crafts, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Staples.

Other retail and restaurant offerings are expected to include Olympia Sports, Sleepy's The Mattress Professionals, Lane Bryant, Dress Barn, Famous Footwear, Game Stop, McDonald's with drive-thru, Starbuck's, and Ninety Nine Restaurant and Pub.

The shopping center will consist of eight buildings with much of the smaller retail offerings on the west end and center of the development.

Specifically, Target will be on the west end and next to it will be Olympia Sports, Sleepy's, Lane Bryant, Famous Footwear, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michael's, Staples, a currently vacant 25,000 square foot space, a currently vacant 6,240 square foot space, and a currently vacant 2,001 square foot space.

McDonald's will have a free standing building in the center of the development and Starbuck's and Game Stop will be housed in a small retail building that will also house other retail expected to fill current vacancies of 1,872 square feet, 1,400 square feet, and 2,500 square feet.

A vacant 3,107 square foot building is located nearby along with a freestanding vacant 6,295 square foot building.

Lowe's will be the only anchor with its own freestanding building while Stop and Shop and Petco will share a building while Ninety Nine Restaurant will have a nearby freestanding building.

According to a Lowe's newsroom press release, their 117,000 square foot store with adjacent garden center will officially open its doors on Tuesday, April 22 at 6 a.m. and the store will have a grand opening celebration on Thursday, April 24 at 10 a.m. with a board cutting ceremony.

The press release states that a store of this size means the company, on average, has invested $18.5 million into the building and creates up to 175 new jobs. The store will stock 40,000 different items. Its official address at Killingly is 1150 Killingly Commons Drive, Dayville, CT 06241.

To accomodate the opening, parking areas, shopping center perimeter roads, and installation and sequencing of traffic lights has been completed.

Upon a recent visit to the site, the Super Stop and Shop is not far from completion and could be open as early as this summer.

Sign on the sign indicate that Target will open in October 2008.

It does not appear that other buildings on the site have yet broke ground but signs on the site do announce the soon-to-open Staples Office Superstore.

The center is being constructed on the former Anchor Glass facility and is located halfway between Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut.

It is located near several other shopping areas and will allow the town's current Stop and Shop to move into a brand new expanded store and is expected to replace the town's aging McDonald's.

The center will be located right off Route 101 and is expected to open in Fall 2008 with the possibility of some stores opening during the Summer of 2008.

According to the Telegram and Gazette of Worcester, Mass., the project was delayed for two years due to environmental cleanup required after the Anchor Glass industrial complex of 13 buildings was demolished in 2005 after the entire business folded in 1997.

In order to prepare for increased traffic to the site, the Norwich Bulletin reported that a new lane about 1/3 of a mile long runs from the former 60,000 square foot Ames in Dayville to the Killingly Commons entrance.

The Ames store has sat vacant for the past decade with its sign still intact and has no signs of vandalism or life appearing as if the store closed only a week ago.

According to Flamingo Blog, sidewalks have been poured on the eastbound side of Route 101 and the I-395 northbound off-ramp has already been widened.

Two new traffic lights have been installed allowing shoppers to access the center from two different entrances on Route 101.

The center's trade area market is expected to go south to Plainfield Village, north to Oxford, Mass, west to North Windham, and east to Pascoag, RI.

The center is expected to compliment stores already housed in other nearby shopping centers.

For example, according to the WS Development Web site, the nearby Lisbon Landing Shopping Center in Lisbon on Route 12 right off exit 84 of I-395 is currently the home of a 24-hour Wal-Mart Super Center, O'Neil 12-screen Theatres, Kohl's, Home Depot, Linens N Things, Pier 1 Imports, Famous Footwear, Olympia Sports, AT&T Wireless, Bath and Body Works, and a Ruby Tuesday restaurant.

The next closest major shopping center is at the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, Mass.

According to the center's Web site, it is anchored by Barnes and Noble, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kohl's, Linens N Things, Marshall's, Target, Circuit City, Linens N Things, Babies R Us, Michael's Arts and Crafts, Pet Smart, Pier 1 Imports, Staples, Marshalls, Old Navy, and National Amusements Theatres.