In the midst of bad news on the retail front for malls across America, including Meadowbrook Mall here in Bridgeport, there looks like there’s some good news for Bridgeport’s retail hub. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.

 

With Elder-Beerman closing and the Sears space still vacant, the mall likely needed a punch in the arm of any magnitude. Earlier this week, the mall got just that.

 

Bridgeport Community Development Director Andrea Kerr said that a national retail outlet has filed for a building permit. The permit was recently filed for the national chain Torrid.

 

Torrid is described as a women's clothing chain. It is known for its trendy plus-size cocktail dresses, jeans, lingerie and footwear among other items.

 

While it looks to be good news, it wasn’t 100 percent sealed as of Friday. Although the building permit was acquired, which officials say is definitely a good thing, no lease has been signed between Torrid and the Cafaro Company.

 

Joe Bell, the corporate communications manager for Cafaro, said the company does not comment on any pending lease deals or negotiations until they are signed and would not confirm their presence. Cafaro is the Ohio-based company that operates Meadowbrook Mall and retail properties nationwide.

 

However, the application for a building permit means the company is very likely going to be doing business in Bridgeport in the near future. Kerr said the permit is for $160,000 to renovate the space they plan to occupy.

 

“What’s good about this is that whenever we approach the mall regarding our concerns in general, they assure us that they constantly have things in the works for our location,” said Kerr. “The thing that I can say when they tell us that is that as long as I’ve been here and prior to my arrival they’ve always pull through on that statement. This is another example.”

 

The business, if everything moves forward as anticipated, will locate into the former location of Tru South, which is near the center court of the mall. Tru South is not going out of business, but is relocating across the hall in the space next to Journeys.

 

The contraction for the project is Lonestar Commercial. The architect for the job is Bruce M. Carlson Architect out of Minneapolis, MN.