"Following the departure of several retailers and declining conditions at Trumbull Mall, the Shops at North County, and Towson Town Center, we've made the difficult decision to close our stores at these locations." That is part of the statement Apple released in April, as reported by CT Insider, announcing that its Trumbull Mall store would join two others nationwide in closing.

Six months later, the mall's holiday calendar is out. The Halloween dance party, Santa's arrival, the pajama party and the sensory-friendly Santa hour are all set in one place: the upper-level space the mall calls the former Lord & Taylor Court. That court sits in front of the one building on the site that is not part of the sale.

The Court Outside the Building Nobody Is Selling

Westfair Communications reported in March that the property being marketed covers four buildings, 1,027,657 square feet of leasable space, on 75.99 acres. The mall as a whole totals 1,145,657 square feet. The gap between those numbers is the former Lord & Taylor store. Hudson Bay still owns that building, and it sits outside the foreclosure.

The receiver's own figures give a sense of its size. As of January 31, 2026, the mall's vacancy rate was 21.7%, which came to 31 empty units and 127,267 square feet across the properties for sale. The vacant Lord & Taylor building measures 118,000 square feet on its own. One dark anchor is close to the size of every empty shop in the rest of the mall combined, and whoever buys Trumbull Mall will not own it.

So this year's family events are held next to the largest vacancy on the property, and the sale won't settle that vacancy either way. The court works as a stage because the storefront beside it has no tenant and no current owner-operator in the mall business.

How the Mall Got Here

The ownership chain is the reason the mall is being run the way it is this season.

1. 2022. Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management buy the mall from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which had operated it as Westfield Trumbull.
2. 2025. Creditors foreclose on 5065 Main Street after a default on a $152.3 million loan.
3. June 2025. Bridgeport Superior Court appoints Trigild IVL LLC as receiver, and Centennial Real Estate Management takes over management and leasing under a contract effective June 12.
4. January 5, 2026. By this date the receiver has hired Newmark, which holds exclusive rights to find investors.
5. April 9, 2026. Apple announces its Trumbull Mall store will close. The announcement gave no closing date.
6. October 2026. In her annual address to the business community, First Selectman Vicki Tesoro says the mall was listed in January and the sale process is still underway, and that "more information will be forthcoming."

No buyer has been announced. Until one is, a court-appointed receiver and its management firm are running the building, and the holiday calendar below is theirs.

The Season, Date by Date

Every event below comes from the mall's events page. The court is on the upper level.

The Santa photo page sends visitors to a reservation portal for session times. The portal says walk-ups are welcome every day until closing. The Sensory Friendly Santa hour starts before the regular day gets busy. The three pet sessions all fall on Monday evenings, after school and work. With a receiver in charge and the sale still open, check the events page again before you go.

What the Rest of the Building Still Holds

Most of the building's occupied space is held by tenants away from the court. According to the receiver's February report, as Westfair reported it, Target, Macy's and JCPenney together account for 557,950 square feet of retail space. That is about half of everything in the sale. The same report counted 80 permanent tenants leasing 240,290 square feet and 23 temporary tenants leasing another 48,069 square feet. L.A. Fitness is still in the mall directory. Westfair reported in July 2025 that L.A. Fitness and Hudson Bay own their buildings but lease them back from the mall owner, which makes them a different kind of anchor from Target, JCPenney and Macy's, all of which lease.

Short-term leases are a large share of how the mall fills space right now. For every 10 square feet held by permanent tenants, about two more were on temporary leases as of January. Seasonal setups like the Santa set and short-term shops fit that model, and they suit the court that hosts them.

Exotic Snack Guys, which the CT Post reported in June 2025 was on its way, now appears in the mall directory. The homepage lists Pixie DIY House as coming soon. In the food court, T-Swirl Crêpe opened on March 29, 2025, and the CT Post reported that it filled the food court's last vacancy.

What the Town Has Drawn for the Site

The town finished the Trumbull Mall Area Market Feasibility and Land Use Study in 2025, and it identifies more than one million square feet of additional commercial development potential on the site. Zoning passed in August 2025 allows senior housing and other uses the study describes, with the goal of turning the area "from a mall to a vibrant neighborhood district."

Newmark's marketing flyer, as summarized by Westfair, says the zoning amendments allow the site to be subdivided into two-acre parcels for phased redevelopment. The flyer also points to The Residences on Main, a newly delivered 260-unit apartment community right next door. It cites traffic counts of 32,000 vehicles a day on Main Street, Route 111, and 46,000 on the Merritt Parkway, Route 15. The town last appraised the property at $115 million in 2025.

Two-acre parcels would let a buyer redevelop one section while the rest stays open. The court and the vacant Lord & Taylor building would complicate that, because the anchor at the center of this year's festivities belongs to a different owner than everything around it. Westfair also reported that Rina Bakalar, Trumbull's Director of Economic and Community Development, told the town's Economic and Community Development Commission that she and the First Selectman would meet with the sale brokers to see how the town could support the process.

Elsewhere in Trumbull Before Thanksgiving

The town is running its own fall calendar alongside the mall's:

• Saturday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m. The Nichols Improvement Association holds its Halloween Parade.
• Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kids Pumpkin Fest on Town Hall Green, 5866 Main Street, with pumpkin decorating, face painting, crafts, a touch-a-truck and a DJ.
• Tuesday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The town's Halloween parade and trick-or-treat at Town Hall for residents ages 0 to 5. Registration is required.
• Wednesday, Nov. 4. Loose-leaf collection is expected to start, weather permitting, according to the October First Selectman's newsletter. The town updates a progress map daily.
• Sunday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m. Trumbull Library's "In Conversation" with Connecticut author Ethan Rutherford, followed by a reception and book signing.

Plan extra driving time this season. State signal work on White Plains Road between Daniels Farm Road and Reservoir Avenue began in September and is expected to run into the new year. Sidewalk construction on Whitney Avenue between Dunellen Road and the Pequonnock River Trail means one-lane alternating traffic there. Farther along Whitney Avenue, the Veterans and First Responders Center at Kaatz Pond is expected to be finished in January and will be available for public rental.

What happens to 76 acres at Main Street and the Merritt Parkway will affect every home within a short drive of it, whichever plan wins out. If you'd like to know how the mall's next chapter could affect what your own property is worth, Karen Cross and Team AFA at William Raveis are following the sale closely. Request an Instant Home Valuation and start with a clear number.