It’s in West Hartford Center where you’ll find bulldozers and hard hats, all in preparation for one of the highly anticipated shopping center, Blueback Square.

“It’s the completion of West Hartford center. This is the east side of the center which had never been fully developed once the car dealerships that were formerly here left this area and relocated themselves” Rob Rowlson, Economic and Community Development Officer for the town of West Hartford, explained.

“It brings jobs to the community for us to expand our library and our police station and renovate those buildings. It provided us an opportunity to bring many new jobs into the community and it also and probably most importantly brought to West Hartford center an opportunity to bring residential properties into the community.”

The center will be 1/3 retail, 1/3 offices, and 1/3 residential areas. It will have a Crate&Barrel (expected to open on October 17), Cheesecake Factory, Barnes&Noble, a movie theater and much more.

With mom and pop shops right across the street, there are some concerns about the shopping center taking away from the quaint environment.

Rowlson replied, “the stores themselves will be larger and the buildings will be taller but it’s hope that rather than detract from the center it actually adds to the center by being in some ways very much like what West Hartford center looks like today.” Rowlson adds the brick work and architecture mimics the existing look.

Blueback Square was put in West Hartford Center to attract more people to the area. As of right now there are mostly mom and pop shops in the area, and they have to compete with big businesses in nearby towns. Blueback Square will hopefully bring more people to the area and ultimately increase business.

Construction of Blueback Square should be completed as the Spring season unfolds.