The Crystal Mall in Waterford is in its final days as a mall complex before General Dynamics expands its New London County presence.
The company announced they were purchasing the mall in the fall and just announced ambitious hiring goals for this year.
The company intends to hire 8,000 new employees in 2026. They said they plan to hire 4,000-4,500 for the Southeast Connecticut region: 2,250 for Groton operations, 1,000 for engineering and design, and 1,500 for support.
Most of the businesses in the mall had moved out before the acquisition, and some of the holdout businesses have found new locations, such as the Toy Vault, which announced two new locations.
The mall’s closure will be the end of an era.
“The whole premise of the mall concept is to take advantage of good infrastructure, in an existing facility at a great price point, to be able to move things off the shipyard,” said Mark Rayha, President of Electric Boat.
At a press conference when the sale was announced, leaders said the intended use of the mall would be office-like roles, as well as training spaces for both new hires and for growth within the company.
Rayha noted that training capabilities were one of the elements of the new space he is excited about.
“We are making investments all over general dynamics to support this time in the nation’s history, for us we are investing in training,” said Rayha.
The mall space marks a significant investment in the company, at a time when they also just announced a contract modification that secured $15.4 billion to continue building Columbia-class submarines.
The Sears building, according to Rayha, will be one of the first areas that sees renovation, and will serve as a training area.
“Things we want to be able to do, that are unique to our business,” he explained.
The converted space will also allow the company to move some administrative and engineering roles to the Waterford facility, freeing up much-needed space on the Groton waterfront.
“Waterfront is at a premium, and you’ve seen the EB shipyard we have a lot crammed in there, we want to make sure everything is its best use, to build submarines,” Rayha said.
The mall officially ceases being a mall on Tuesday, March 31.
