Crystal Mall closes, General Dynamics Electric Boat to begin construction on new space

The Crystal Mall in Waterford officially closed its doors on Tuesday.

The few holdout businesses have shuttered or moved, and General Dynamics Electric Boat is preparing to move in.

Many in the community have great memories in the mall.

“Just wanted to see what was left and do a little nostalgic tour of what used to be a very vibrant mall,” said Steve from East Lyme, who stopped in for a quick walk.

For nearly 40 years, the mall served as a retail hub, but the increase of online retail and the pandemic made survival hard.

“We used to come here with our daughters to eat in the food court and they had their first jobs here as teenagers,” Liz from East Lyme said.

The space is now destined for conversion.

“The whole premise of the mall concept is 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 General Dynamics Electric Boat.

Last fall, the company announced it was purchasing the mall property, with the intention of converting the space into offices for some administrative positions, engineers, and lab space for training generations of shipbuilders and sailors.

“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.

This month, federal officials announced $15.4 billion in contract modifications to build more Columbia class submarines. The fleet is growing and changing, and with it, so is Connecticut shipbuilding.

“The Crystal Mall opportunity fits perfectly in what we know is going to be decades of new hiring, particularly in that high-end engineering space,” Rep. Joe Courtney (D-2nd District) said.

The continued growth is echoed in the job market with the company also announcing 2026 hiring goals to the tune of around 4,000 to 5,000 jobs in the southeastern Connecticut area.

The company has also launched strategic partnerships with New Haven schools, Cheney Tech in Manchester, and other welding labs around the state to help funnel students into jobs.

Courtney said this opportunity will ripple well beyond Groton and Waterford, up the supply chain, and benefit Connecticut at large.

“This really is a Connecticut, all of Connecticut event and trend we are going to see, and it’s all really positive,” Courtney said.

Construction is set to start April 1 with a goal of having the space operational in 2027.

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