Hawley Lane Mall opened in 1971 with two anchor stores, Caldor (featuring a two-story design and belt escalators) and a Waldbaum's supermarket.

Other, smaller stores such as B. Dalton booksellers and Hawley Lane Shoes have also called the mall home.

Sage-Allen went out of business in 1993, merging with to become Filene's, which in turn closed the Hawley Lane store so as not to compete with its larger locations in both Milford and Trumbull.

Shortly after purchasing the mall, National Realty and Development Corp. spent $8 million on a refit of the entire property in 2005.

Target broke ground in late 2004, and at 124,500 square feet (11,570 m2), it represents one fourth of the mall's size.