New owner, new life: What's planned for the Wilton Mall

WILTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- In a $25 million deal, Macerich sold the Wilton Mall to Faraz Khan, who also owns Clifton Park Center Mall. Khan told NEWS10 that this deal was four years in the making and he's working to breathe life back into the mall.

Macerich is a large, national real estate company who wanted to sell to a local company, said Khan. That's where he stepped in. "We're local. We're from here. We're very hands on," he said.

Back in 2022, Macerich, along with Paramount Development, proposed developing the mall to include apartments and townhomes. The project was approved by the town of Wilton in April 2024.

With Khan as the new owner, that project is on hold. However, Khan still wants to build the apartments and townhomes after he works on renovating the mall itself and adding new tenants.

The Wilton Mall first opened in 1990 and Khan said it still looks like a mall from the 90s. He plans to renovate the mall to give it a more modern look. He also plans to host events at the mall, much like he does at Clifton Park Center.

Khan said he currently has seven tenants lined up to join the Wilton Mall. Although he cannot disclose who the tenants are at this time, Khan said they should be open within the next seven months. A lot of the current tenants will be staying, but some may move as they'd be better suited outside the mall, said Khan. He's in talks will other prospective tenants as well, including national outlet stores, restaurants and coffee shops.

The original plans for the Wilton Mall development project called for about 300 apartments, over 80 townhomes, and the demolition of the vacant Bon-Ton store. Khan plans to eventually build the apartments and townhomes, but he wants to keep the old Bon-Ton wing. He also wants to construct an inside corridor connecting the apartments and the mall.

It's going to take about two and a half years to renovate and add tenants to the mall, said Khan. After that, he'll be focusing on the apartment project, which may not start until the third quarter of 2027.