QuoteOutside Detroit, plans have been in the works for two years to transform the outdated Lakeside Mall into an open-air center with green space and a waterway. With the property in foreclosure and its ownership in limbo, the blueprints will have to be flexible.
The mall's troubles have spiraled since landlord GGP Inc. stopped paying the mortgage last year and then failed to find a buyer for the property amid turmoil in the retail industry. The center's value, already less than the $135 million loan, was slashed another $25 million in February. Officials for the city of Sterling Heights, Michigan, aren't giving up on their project. They're preparing to court new investors with opportunities that go well beyond retail, and anything from apartments to hotels and restaurants is possible.
"We understand that malls will never be the same," said Luke Bonner, an economic-development adviser working with the city on the Lakeside project. "E-commerce is taking a toll on malls whether people want to admit it or not. It's a reality."
Full article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-03/retail-shakeout-forces-mall-owners-to-rework-development-plans
Reality intercedes yet again. Ain't that a bitch?
Lakeside Mall really took a hit when The Mall at Partridge Creek opened down the road. Partridge Creek is a nice open air mall like the Town Center and as clean as Lakeside is, its pretty dated and dull on the inside with a strange floor plan that I always get lost in. Metro Detroit has no shortage of competition for malls, Somerset Collection and Great Lakes Crossing being the two largest and carry the most cachet, while there are a handful of others similar to The Avenues. Lakeside just appears to be the next one to falter in the area.