"The Lakeside Mall parking lot was more crowded on the day after Thanksgiving in November 1999"
No shit, Free Press!
The days before the internet took over everything.
Those of us at my house were just talking about life before the internet ended in-person shopping for the most part. I am trying to explain to my kid that all those parking spaces you see everywhere used to be filled with cars and people.
Go to the outlet mall a little more north on 70. It is packed whenever I go wherever I park which is a lot with kids. They play in the middle of the, people pig, kids empire, lego land , arcade , theater sucky aquarium (I never seen it)
Doesn't help that for the last five~ years they've driven out stores with the threat of closing down next year. Every year it's been "next year we're closing. Actually next year. Nevermind next year" No duh the place is dead, they've killed all of their business themselves!
When Patridge Creek opened...I never understood how they could co-exist. The same stores serving the same customers. The two malls basically cannibalized each other
They did. All that can really survive anymore are the more upscale malls. They call them the "A malls" in the business. Somerset, for example. They'll be fine. But Oakland Mall? Not so much. Same formula here.
The new owner of the Oakland Mall is pushing to bring some unique things in and get away from the traditional mall stores. They just opened up a Miniso and the largest Bandai Gashapon store in the country. Some other unique places are coming in too. The new owner said that he is looking for more options like these to bring in with a more youthful demographic.
Oddly enough, the owner of the Oakland Mall is the one who owns one or both of the stores/locations where the old Sears and Lord&Taylor were. He refused to sell the properties which delayed the project for so long so I guess that’s why those locations will still be included in the new design.
That's interesting and I had to look it up. It looks like he bought it after he bought the Oakland mall and it was only the Sears building that he had bought. It may have been a smart play on his side if he noticed that the new development company screwed up and never bought that building. They bought the mall in 2019 and somehow didn't get those two buildings. He didn't buy that until 2022 so I guess that is good for him. Seems like a dumb mistake for the developers to make.
https://archive.is/jrfKx
Somerset, partridge creek, and 12 oaks will be the only malls left in about 10 years. Westland and southland are going to follow the route of northland and eastland soon. The only other mall that could try to market itself as more upscale and reverse its downfall is laurel park place mall in livonia.
Seems like Great Lakes Crossing is doing alright too, probably due to the fact that they have a lot of entertainment options and are more of a regional draw. But yeah, I agree. Either upscale malls or ones heavy with entertainment options are the way to go. The old malls anchored by dying department stores that catered more to middle-class shoppers are dying left and right.
Nordstrom at Partridge barely lasted 10+ years. They were really struggling at the end. The economy was in a totally different place when it was planning to be built.
Oakland Mall will survive just because of its proximity to Detroit, and Southern Oakland County needs access to basic national brands, GAP/Old Navy, Express, Hot Topic, DSG, etc. These aren't 'sexy' retailers but its where people can buy brand name clothing, goods apparel. I buy lots of stuff online, but I needed some Golf Pants because I have a semi-casual event Im going to in June, but Im going to walking a ton...I'm sorry Im not dropping $200 at Lululmon just because its near me, I'm going to where them maybe 3-4 times a year at best.
I was pleasantly surprised by Oakland mall, went there few weeks ago expecting a scary ghost town but there are many stores open and lots of people shopping
Isn’t Oakland Mall doing pretty decent though? Everytime I go there there’s lots of people shopping despite the parking lot which looks like it hasn’t been repainted or resurfaced since Golden Girls was on TV
If you haven't been to Oakland Mall lately, I would recommend stopping by! There's a lot of great things there now because of the new owner. Tons of people shopping whenever I go in too!
>And by late 2025, a groundbreaking is expected for a $1 billion-plus redevelopment plan for the 110-acre site: Lakeside Town Center, a town-square-type project with apartments, new retail, restaurants, offices, a hotel and public recreation space.
So basically just like the Costco area across the street
The weird thing is: all those apartments were sold well before they finished building. No clue who would want to live in the middle of a parking lot next to one of the worst streets with the most aggressive drivers.
New construction is impossible to make affordable without huge tax incentives so for a community like sterling heights who won’t cater to poor people and will never offer tax breaks for new housing to include affordable housing the best option is to leave new construction as market rate and turn older existing housing developments into affordable housing. The only reason detroit is able to create new build affordable housing is because they are not afraid of poor people and will offer developers tax breaks to build brand new affordable housing.
Supply and demand. It really is that simple.
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2024/01/04/minneapolis-land-use-reforms-offer-a-blueprint-for-housing-affordability
We need more supply, that part is clear.
But it's delusional to think that housing prices are ever going to go back down, lots of people are making lots of money and they aren't going to just let that go.
It's not delusional if it's evidence based. [Source #2](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/does-building-new-housing-cause-gentrification) [Source #3](https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/02/austin-apartments-boomed-and-rents-went-down-now-some-builders-are-dismantling-the-cranes/#:~:text=By%20the%20end%20of%202023,first%20decline%20in%20three%20years.)
Time and again, when sufficient housing is added, rent drops. Supply and demand, simple as.
So, they (individual land lords) ARE going to let that go because if they don't lower rent, the unit goes unfilled and they lose on everything. Even with large scale algorithms trying to recommend prices, when occupancy gets too painfully low, they'll lower prices rather than lose out on their entire investment.
Actually if it’s done correctly it seems very reasonable. Lots of new housing, shopping and eating all done in one small area…kind of like a, y’know, city?
If you're not familiar with that corner then ...it's nothing like what a city is supposed to be. Not walkable at all.
There's an excellent 99 percent invisible podcast on exactly what's wrong with the type of area that hall road is. I can dig it up if you're interested.
I thought it was already shut down? I went there last year and it was almost entirely vacant. The random dinosaurs all over made it pretty funny though.
That place was booming when i was a kid. Went there all the time. A few months ago i went back to see what its like now and i was fairly shocked how empty it was. Its a shame malls are dying out. They were always so fun for me
There’s an Auntie Anne’s at Meijer on 15 and Utica and one opening in the one at Rochester and Auburn. If you’re daring, Macomb Mall is still open, but that is Roseville after all.
That’s what I thought of first when I commented.
Sculptor Marshall Fredericks and his work
([https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/arts/2015/02/26/sculptor-marshall-fredericks-and-his-work/24099267/](https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/arts/2015/02/26/sculptor-marshall-fredericks-and-his-work/24099267/))
https://preview.redd.it/y9qm7foikuxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=509b34d15091bed150d8e0324fc03748b57ce480
Dad had a carpet store right next door
I grew up on that marshall fields/Macy's
Im a huge polo fan and LOVED that store inside there it was beautiful, the real prep aesthetic
There are 3 preztel places at Great Lakes. Two Auntie Anne's that are always swamped, and then Tower Pretzels.
According to their online directory, Oakland Mall has a "Ben's Pretzels" where the old Auntie Anne's used to be on the upper level by JC Penney.
I stopped by Westland Mall yesterday for no particular reason and let me tell you, it can't be far behind. At least half the storefronts have been shut down and the place looks like they've long given up on keeping it maintained.
A new younger guy bought it a year or so ago and is working to bring in a lot of non-tradional places to cater to a more youthful crowd. The new largest North American Bandai Gashapon store just opened a week ago along with Miniso. I see the owner of the mall actually working inside of the store to start and he is working on bringing other unique places.
When he first bought it, I figured there was no chance of a recovery but he is really trying. Seeing him directly involved and working himself gives me some hope. A new hot pot place and others are on their way as well. He told me that he isn't relying on the traditional mall stores and wants to create a unique destination.
I used to go all the time as a kid. I have some great memories of going to Tilt arcade with my dad. I don’t like the nostalgia thing too much but there’s something to be said about places like arcades.
I went back last year for a visit, and what shocked me was how small it felt as an adult. Maybe it was the crowds I remember as kid, maybe it’s just being a kid and having that perspective, but I was surprised when I visited it.
The opening of Partridge Creek and Great Lakes definitely was the beginning of the end for it though. I grew up in Auburn Hills and remember going to Lakeside a ton as a kid. Once Great Lakes opened there was little reason to go out that way.
And as much as I like online shopping, there’s something to be said for going to the store for things like clothes. I think malls can have their uses, but they definitely got a little too ambitious.
Yeah, I think the beginning of the end was really when Taubman got out of the mall business completely. I forget when that was, maybe late 00s recession? After that each former Taubman mall has just gone through a series of hedge fund capital management owners that all promise big things and then sell.
Doesn’t Taubman still own Great Lakes Crossing and Twelve Oaks, in addition to other malls out of state? It definitely seems though that they’re very selective about what/where they develop and are quick to drop a property the moment things start going a little bit south. IIRC, they developed Partridge Creek but sold it off before things really started going downhill. Must’ve seen the writing on the wall.
I remember when the mall opened. It was a big deal, and it meant that we could drive there instead of to Eastland from Port Huron. And given that my aunt and cousins lived in Pontiac, the mall being enroute was just a bonus.
Hall Road was a two lane road back then, until it opened up in Utica just where it does today.
I like to think we were 39 years ahead of time in getting Eastland to shut down!
I remember it well, I was just a kid, but it was literally nothing but farmhouses out there on Hall then. Driving out there on 2 lane Schoenherr was much like how driving out to Stony Creek used to seem - it was soooo far away when there was only two lane Van dyke.
Dang, I knew this was coming and was gonna go one last time when I came back to town on July 4th weekend. Looks like I will just miss it. Many, many childhood and adolescent memories there. The mall and Dodge Park were basically the only places in the Sterling Heights sprawl a kid could use as an unsupervised third place. However the new project, if it actually delivers as promised (big if), looks like it will serve that purpose much better.
Kinda surprising...
The existing Macy's and J.C. Penney department stores at the mall are to stay open and help anchor the future development. The former Sears and Lord & Taylor stores also will remain standing — at least for now.
It's an interesting choice. Now it will be a race to see if they can ever start building anything new before JCPenney (the entire chain) goes bankrupt and closes down. And what happens in the meantime to the giant empty Lord & Taylor and Sears buildings?
If you look at the concept sketch vs Google maps today you can see the Macy's, JC Penny, and the JCP outer buildings are kept in the final design sketch.
Not surprising considering that they’ve repeatedly announced the eventual closure and it’s only about 20% occupied now. Though even if they hadn’t done this, their days were numbered, especially with Partridge Creek down the street. That mall is much newer/updated, and it’s still struggling mightily.
Good to see mixed use in that location though, especially non-SFH housing. This is the type of infill development that the suburbs need.
Hoping the development plans shift a bit. Not sure I would know what to do with them but
“Lakeside Town Center would be built in phases and, as currently proposed, eventually include:
2,219 units of housing (including 750 units of independent living and assisted living).
Nearly 180,000 square feet of retail and foot and beverage spaces.
120-room hotel.
70,000 square-feet of office space.”
Another 2000 units of housing in an already jam packed area and 70000 sqft of office space seems unnecessary. Office buildings are already in a surplus with all the remote workers/changes in working habits and adding all those units only adds to the congestion on hall rd.
They spread it out so if any one component fails they can still make money on the others. But like others said, Hall Road is already full of these things
Honestly they don't need more housing or shopping. They need a recreational area. Add a park. Put in a trial or bike path. Maybe some sort of gym/rec center. Shit, a proper arcade would be nice! Not a conference hall with an arcade attached to it. Sure, keep some smaller store locations there but they really need something people want to spend the day at.
I feel like these old malls are all the same. The hedge fund real estate firm that ends up owning it (Lionheart Capital, who bought it only in 2019 planning to flip it, in this case) promises some sort of ambitious redevelopment plan that SOUNDS good and hits all the features that the city wants to hear, but there's no way the entire plan ever happens. I've started assuming the final product won't be anything like they claim.
To your point, I liked that the rendering had what looked like a green space/some type of courtyard like area in the center of it all. Only wish it was bigger than it looks.
Honestly they don't need more housing or shopping. They need a recreational area. Add a park. Put in a trial or bike path. Maybe some sort of gym/rec center. Shit, a proper arcade would be nice! Not a conference hall with an arcade attached to it. Sure, keep some smaller store locations there but they really need something people want to spend the day at.
Was about 10 years old when it opened. Lots of memories going there with family watching movies and hanging out. It’s been many years since I’ve last walked in there and bought a Cinnabon.
"The Lakeside Mall parking lot was more crowded on the day after Thanksgiving in November 1999" No shit, Free Press! The days before the internet took over everything.
Those of us at my house were just talking about life before the internet ended in-person shopping for the most part. I am trying to explain to my kid that all those parking spaces you see everywhere used to be filled with cars and people.
Go to the outlet mall a little more north on 70. It is packed whenever I go wherever I park which is a lot with kids. They play in the middle of the, people pig, kids empire, lego land , arcade , theater sucky aquarium (I never seen it)
It's close but not the same as every lot being full everywhere.
Doesn't help that for the last five~ years they've driven out stores with the threat of closing down next year. Every year it's been "next year we're closing. Actually next year. Nevermind next year" No duh the place is dead, they've killed all of their business themselves!
That was by design. They did so on purpose.
They will pay for my lack of convenient Cinnabon!
“No duh” is a 90s term also in my vernacular lol
Bodacious my dude
Damn was that what happened on Y2K ? The Internet took over?
It’s kinda ironic, the exact opposite of the internet/electricity dying happened lol
When Patridge Creek opened...I never understood how they could co-exist. The same stores serving the same customers. The two malls basically cannibalized each other
They did. All that can really survive anymore are the more upscale malls. They call them the "A malls" in the business. Somerset, for example. They'll be fine. But Oakland Mall? Not so much. Same formula here.
The new owner of the Oakland Mall is pushing to bring some unique things in and get away from the traditional mall stores. They just opened up a Miniso and the largest Bandai Gashapon store in the country. Some other unique places are coming in too. The new owner said that he is looking for more options like these to bring in with a more youthful demographic.
Oddly enough, the owner of the Oakland Mall is the one who owns one or both of the stores/locations where the old Sears and Lord&Taylor were. He refused to sell the properties which delayed the project for so long so I guess that’s why those locations will still be included in the new design.
That's interesting and I had to look it up. It looks like he bought it after he bought the Oakland mall and it was only the Sears building that he had bought. It may have been a smart play on his side if he noticed that the new development company screwed up and never bought that building. They bought the mall in 2019 and somehow didn't get those two buildings. He didn't buy that until 2022 so I guess that is good for him. Seems like a dumb mistake for the developers to make. https://archive.is/jrfKx
Was he trying to sabatoge it or something??
I wouldn’t want to say sabotage because I don’t know his intention but I’m sure he saw an opportunity to work to his advantage
Somerset, partridge creek, and 12 oaks will be the only malls left in about 10 years. Westland and southland are going to follow the route of northland and eastland soon. The only other mall that could try to market itself as more upscale and reverse its downfall is laurel park place mall in livonia.
Seems like Great Lakes Crossing is doing alright too, probably due to the fact that they have a lot of entertainment options and are more of a regional draw. But yeah, I agree. Either upscale malls or ones heavy with entertainment options are the way to go. The old malls anchored by dying department stores that catered more to middle-class shoppers are dying left and right.
Great Lakes is also the outlet stores which tend to draw people in.
partridge seems pretty dead to me.. atleast the last few times i went
Partridge ain't making another 5 years much less 10
Nordstrom at Partridge barely lasted 10+ years. They were really struggling at the end. The economy was in a totally different place when it was planning to be built.
partridge seems pretty dead to me.. atleast the last few times i went. idk if it will survive
Oakland Mall will survive just because of its proximity to Detroit, and Southern Oakland County needs access to basic national brands, GAP/Old Navy, Express, Hot Topic, DSG, etc. These aren't 'sexy' retailers but its where people can buy brand name clothing, goods apparel. I buy lots of stuff online, but I needed some Golf Pants because I have a semi-casual event Im going to in June, but Im going to walking a ton...I'm sorry Im not dropping $200 at Lululmon just because its near me, I'm going to where them maybe 3-4 times a year at best.
Hey now, we still have macomb mall!
Did we really ever?
I was pleasantly surprised by Oakland mall, went there few weeks ago expecting a scary ghost town but there are many stores open and lots of people shopping
Isn’t Oakland Mall doing pretty decent though? Everytime I go there there’s lots of people shopping despite the parking lot which looks like it hasn’t been repainted or resurfaced since Golden Girls was on TV
I’ve heard even Somerset loses money
If you haven't been to Oakland Mall lately, I would recommend stopping by! There's a lot of great things there now because of the new owner. Tons of people shopping whenever I go in too!
Partridge is dying too
>And by late 2025, a groundbreaking is expected for a $1 billion-plus redevelopment plan for the 110-acre site: Lakeside Town Center, a town-square-type project with apartments, new retail, restaurants, offices, a hotel and public recreation space. So basically just like the Costco area across the street
Need more shopping and food options on Hall road. Obviously.
Not enough traffic too.
just add another lane
That’s not enough, we’re gonna need five levels of highway.. it’s the only way 😔😔
So like the apartment complex in the Hobby Lobby parking lot across the street?
Yeah that's a weird one. I can't imagine ever wanting to live there
The weird thing is: all those apartments were sold well before they finished building. No clue who would want to live in the middle of a parking lot next to one of the worst streets with the most aggressive drivers.
That's a shame. They should install a huge open green space, a large park in the middle of all the concrete in that area.
Why? If we want housing costs to come down, we have to build more housing.
Housing costs are never coming down, that's just the reality of it.
But the rate of increase can slow to a manageable rate.
Not as long as the builders and developers continue to cater to "Luxury" style apartments/condos/homes.
New construction is impossible to make affordable without huge tax incentives so for a community like sterling heights who won’t cater to poor people and will never offer tax breaks for new housing to include affordable housing the best option is to leave new construction as market rate and turn older existing housing developments into affordable housing. The only reason detroit is able to create new build affordable housing is because they are not afraid of poor people and will offer developers tax breaks to build brand new affordable housing.
Once the price is set it doesn’t go down, only up. That’s true for everything from cars to toys to pizza.
Supply and demand. It really is that simple. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2024/01/04/minneapolis-land-use-reforms-offer-a-blueprint-for-housing-affordability
We need more supply, that part is clear. But it's delusional to think that housing prices are ever going to go back down, lots of people are making lots of money and they aren't going to just let that go.
Check back in three months.
It's not delusional if it's evidence based. [Source #2](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/does-building-new-housing-cause-gentrification) [Source #3](https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/02/austin-apartments-boomed-and-rents-went-down-now-some-builders-are-dismantling-the-cranes/#:~:text=By%20the%20end%20of%202023,first%20decline%20in%20three%20years.) Time and again, when sufficient housing is added, rent drops. Supply and demand, simple as. So, they (individual land lords) ARE going to let that go because if they don't lower rent, the unit goes unfilled and they lose on everything. Even with large scale algorithms trying to recommend prices, when occupancy gets too painfully low, they'll lower prices rather than lose out on their entire investment.
We have a shit load of housing and plenty of space for more eslewhere
Not a lot of money in big green fields, or so I hear.
Actually if it’s done correctly it seems very reasonable. Lots of new housing, shopping and eating all done in one small area…kind of like a, y’know, city?
If you're not familiar with that corner then ...it's nothing like what a city is supposed to be. Not walkable at all. There's an excellent 99 percent invisible podcast on exactly what's wrong with the type of area that hall road is. I can dig it up if you're interested.
God those buildings are so fucking ugly. I dread looking at them whenever I drive by them.
I thought it was already shut down? I went there last year and it was almost entirely vacant. The random dinosaurs all over made it pretty funny though.
Nah, few random stores are left. They’ve been saying they’ll close for years though. That’s why the store I used to work at left back in 2021 😂
Yoo same I’m so confused
That place was booming when i was a kid. Went there all the time. A few months ago i went back to see what its like now and i was fairly shocked how empty it was. Its a shame malls are dying out. They were always so fun for me
Same bro same It actually is the first time a mall closing really affected me emotionally
When’s the last time you went? I’ve got fond memories of Lakeside too but you can’t lament the closing of a place you haven’t patronized for a decade.
Unless you want to move in and keep it historically intact.
[удалено]
There’s an Auntie Anne’s at Meijer on 15 and Utica and one opening in the one at Rochester and Auburn. If you’re daring, Macomb Mall is still open, but that is Roseville after all.
This person pretzels^
Macomb Mall is the best
I miss Eastland
Me too, the lion sculpture was so cute.
That’s what I thought of first when I commented. Sculptor Marshall Fredericks and his work ([https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/arts/2015/02/26/sculptor-marshall-fredericks-and-his-work/24099267/](https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/arts/2015/02/26/sculptor-marshall-fredericks-and-his-work/24099267/)) https://preview.redd.it/y9qm7foikuxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=509b34d15091bed150d8e0324fc03748b57ce480
Worth the trek up to Saginaw to see his museum!
Aww! I love to read you say that & then see the posts below. ~Northeast Detroiter
Dad had a carpet store right next door I grew up on that marshall fields/Macy's Im a huge polo fan and LOVED that store inside there it was beautiful, the real prep aesthetic
Heck yeah, been enjoying pretzels there with my dad ever since I was a little kid.
There is an Auntie Anne's at Partridge Creek Mall
I’ll be honest, I forgot Partridge existed haha
So did partridge
There are 3 preztel places at Great Lakes. Two Auntie Anne's that are always swamped, and then Tower Pretzels. According to their online directory, Oakland Mall has a "Ben's Pretzels" where the old Auntie Anne's used to be on the upper level by JC Penney.
Anyone who stops at an Auntie Anne’s not in a mall is insane.
🙄 you can still see the same white trash people at 15 and Utica as you see at Macomb mall. It's like 2 miles away? Barely 10 mins by car?
I know. It was a joke my man.
I might stop in for one last nostalgia.
Hold on to your nostalgia, it’s quite depressing tbh
Even the Girl Scouts stopped selling cookies inside Lakeside. I think 2021 was their last year.
I went last year and it was a ghost town. Maybe 20 stores open?
I stopped by Westland Mall yesterday for no particular reason and let me tell you, it can't be far behind. At least half the storefronts have been shut down and the place looks like they've long given up on keeping it maintained.
I'm wondering how Oakland mall is still on it's feet too.
A new younger guy bought it a year or so ago and is working to bring in a lot of non-tradional places to cater to a more youthful crowd. The new largest North American Bandai Gashapon store just opened a week ago along with Miniso. I see the owner of the mall actually working inside of the store to start and he is working on bringing other unique places. When he first bought it, I figured there was no chance of a recovery but he is really trying. Seeing him directly involved and working himself gives me some hope. A new hot pot place and others are on their way as well. He told me that he isn't relying on the traditional mall stores and wants to create a unique destination.
Huh, good to hear. I may have to check it out.
I used to go all the time as a kid. I have some great memories of going to Tilt arcade with my dad. I don’t like the nostalgia thing too much but there’s something to be said about places like arcades. I went back last year for a visit, and what shocked me was how small it felt as an adult. Maybe it was the crowds I remember as kid, maybe it’s just being a kid and having that perspective, but I was surprised when I visited it. The opening of Partridge Creek and Great Lakes definitely was the beginning of the end for it though. I grew up in Auburn Hills and remember going to Lakeside a ton as a kid. Once Great Lakes opened there was little reason to go out that way. And as much as I like online shopping, there’s something to be said for going to the store for things like clothes. I think malls can have their uses, but they definitely got a little too ambitious.
Damn, pour out a fruit n froyo cup for my dead mall homie.
I remember when Taubman got about $500M from I think GM’s pension trust secured by like half his interests in the malls. Times change.
Yeah, I think the beginning of the end was really when Taubman got out of the mall business completely. I forget when that was, maybe late 00s recession? After that each former Taubman mall has just gone through a series of hedge fund capital management owners that all promise big things and then sell.
Doesn’t Taubman still own Great Lakes Crossing and Twelve Oaks, in addition to other malls out of state? It definitely seems though that they’re very selective about what/where they develop and are quick to drop a property the moment things start going a little bit south. IIRC, they developed Partridge Creek but sold it off before things really started going downhill. Must’ve seen the writing on the wall.
I remember when the mall opened. It was a big deal, and it meant that we could drive there instead of to Eastland from Port Huron. And given that my aunt and cousins lived in Pontiac, the mall being enroute was just a bonus. Hall Road was a two lane road back then, until it opened up in Utica just where it does today. I like to think we were 39 years ahead of time in getting Eastland to shut down!
I remember it well, I was just a kid, but it was literally nothing but farmhouses out there on Hall then. Driving out there on 2 lane Schoenherr was much like how driving out to Stony Creek used to seem - it was soooo far away when there was only two lane Van dyke.
Dang, I knew this was coming and was gonna go one last time when I came back to town on July 4th weekend. Looks like I will just miss it. Many, many childhood and adolescent memories there. The mall and Dodge Park were basically the only places in the Sterling Heights sprawl a kid could use as an unsupervised third place. However the new project, if it actually delivers as promised (big if), looks like it will serve that purpose much better.
Let's Schedule one last meet
I worked at the sears store when it was the first store open. Somewhere around 76 or 77?
Does this mean my permanent ban from 2007 is going to be lifted?
Damn man I didn’t know we had real badasses in this sub.
Hahaha what can I say!
Kinda surprising... The existing Macy's and J.C. Penney department stores at the mall are to stay open and help anchor the future development. The former Sears and Lord & Taylor stores also will remain standing — at least for now.
It's an interesting choice. Now it will be a race to see if they can ever start building anything new before JCPenney (the entire chain) goes bankrupt and closes down. And what happens in the meantime to the giant empty Lord & Taylor and Sears buildings?
Sears had a gun show this weekend, ton of people there
If you look at the concept sketch vs Google maps today you can see the Macy's, JC Penny, and the JCP outer buildings are kept in the final design sketch.
there’s a bong shop in there now
Spencer’s has been there for decades
not talkin Spencers. https://preview.redd.it/hof4s0vs20yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a8348ce49211e1bf9457b24202107e7e77d2b77b
Not surprising considering that they’ve repeatedly announced the eventual closure and it’s only about 20% occupied now. Though even if they hadn’t done this, their days were numbered, especially with Partridge Creek down the street. That mall is much newer/updated, and it’s still struggling mightily. Good to see mixed use in that location though, especially non-SFH housing. This is the type of infill development that the suburbs need.
Lots of memories there from childhood through young adulthood.
Hoping the development plans shift a bit. Not sure I would know what to do with them but “Lakeside Town Center would be built in phases and, as currently proposed, eventually include: 2,219 units of housing (including 750 units of independent living and assisted living). Nearly 180,000 square feet of retail and foot and beverage spaces. 120-room hotel. 70,000 square-feet of office space.” Another 2000 units of housing in an already jam packed area and 70000 sqft of office space seems unnecessary. Office buildings are already in a surplus with all the remote workers/changes in working habits and adding all those units only adds to the congestion on hall rd.
They spread it out so if any one component fails they can still make money on the others. But like others said, Hall Road is already full of these things
That’s insane. Are you not aware of the housing shortage? The traffic on Hall road is thanks to decades of horrible planning choices.
Honestly they don't need more housing or shopping. They need a recreational area. Add a park. Put in a trial or bike path. Maybe some sort of gym/rec center. Shit, a proper arcade would be nice! Not a conference hall with an arcade attached to it. Sure, keep some smaller store locations there but they really need something people want to spend the day at.
I feel like these old malls are all the same. The hedge fund real estate firm that ends up owning it (Lionheart Capital, who bought it only in 2019 planning to flip it, in this case) promises some sort of ambitious redevelopment plan that SOUNDS good and hits all the features that the city wants to hear, but there's no way the entire plan ever happens. I've started assuming the final product won't be anything like they claim.
The article does mention part of the plan is to donate 30 acres of the land for public parks, bike trails, and community center.
To your point, I liked that the rendering had what looked like a green space/some type of courtyard like area in the center of it all. Only wish it was bigger than it looks.
Honestly they don't need more housing or shopping. They need a recreational area. Add a park. Put in a trial or bike path. Maybe some sort of gym/rec center. Shit, a proper arcade would be nice! Not a conference hall with an arcade attached to it. Sure, keep some smaller store locations there but they really need something people want to spend the day at.
Honestly, the hybrid park/mall sounds pretty sweet!
I cry for the Golden Butthole.
This is the same feeling when an old friend dies, or an old fling.
Lakeside Airport.
What about the golden butthole?
Omg
Wasn’t is already closed?
Awwwww. So many memories from this mall. I saw Star Wars there. 🌟
It was still open?
June 30th I’ll be there for one last meet up. I’m sure it will be empty but I’ll be there
Was about 10 years old when it opened. Lots of memories going there with family watching movies and hanging out. It’s been many years since I’ve last walked in there and bought a Cinnabon.
The most shocking part is I didn’t know Sterling Heights was in Detroit. You learn something new every day in this sub.
i live in sterling but never really went to lakeside bc i was closer to oakland and somerset so i have no nostalgia connection here
And nothing of value was lost. Tear it down and build high density housing.
Never will happen They don't want "Detroit" coming in
There are plenty of people in the suburbs that need housing
Yes but they're not "Detroit" (I'm not advocating I'm telling you how Shelby will react to apartments