Business & Tech
Expanding Business Buys Up Entire Crystal Mall Property
A company that's purchased several properties recently announced it has acquired the failing mall.
WATERFORD, CT — Submarine manufacturer General Dynamics Electric Boat has acquired the struggling Crystal Mall property in Waterford. The purchase includes the entire mall except for the former Sears location, according to an Electric Boat statement.
The news comes after Electric Boat bought the mall's Macy's space in June. That 121,000-square-foot space will be refurbished and is expected to accommodate about 700 employees by March 2027.
The Crystal Mall has shed numerous tenants in recent years. The property was sold to Namdar Realty Group in 2023, which also owns the beleaguered Enfield Mall and Meriden Mall.
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Related: Waterford Mall's Sears Property Goes For $2.7 Million At Auction
Claire's, Forever 21, Zales Jewelry, and FYE are some of the more recent closures at the Crystal Mall.
Find out what's happening in Waterfordfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The last remaining anchor store at the Crystal Mall, JCPenney, closed last year.
The purchase of the entire mall property will allow Electric Boat to expand its engineering, training and software development work in support of Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine production, according to a statement from the company.
Four to five thousand employees are expected to work at the location. Electric Boat will occupy 542,000 square feet of space on the 42-acre plot of land on Route 85.
The spot is 5.5 miles from Electric Boat's shipyard in Groton.
The company plans to refurbish the space for a range of functions related to its submarine production and anticipates employees will start working there by the middle of 2027 at the earliest.
The price of the sale was not revealed.
"Electric Boat is responsible for making the best and most high-tech submarines anywhere, and they are the reason why Connecticut is known as the Submarine Capital of the World," Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement. "Today's announcement further solidifies this company's presence in Connecticut, cementing their future in our great state, and shows, once again, that Connecticut has the best and most talented workforce in the world."
The submarine manufacturer also purchased a North Stonington property in January for $5.5 million, where it will construct a 480,000-square-foot warehouse. The company also purchased a pair of Groton properties for employee parking, according to Hearst Connecticut Media.
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