Right now, Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights is surrounded by a sea of parking.
By just a few years from now, that vast open space of 7,745 parking spots could be home to various residential and office developments, parking decks, green space and even an urban beach on the lake surrounding about half of the mall site.
The mall site could even connect to Island Park in the lake, a park that could be turned into a yet-to-be-disclosed recreational opportunity.
“They’re concepts, but they are coming to life one step at a time,” City Manager Mark Vanderpool said of conceptual plans to “re-imagine” Lakeside Mall, home to the big-box stores of Sears, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor and Macy’s. “We don’t believe this is pie in the sky, but good prudent planning for the future.”
That planning is especially important when big-box stores and malls, in general, are struggling and closing.
The fully enclosed, 1.5-million-square-foot shopping mall on Hall Road between Hayes and Schoenherr opened in 1976 and was developed by A. Alfred Taubman and Rodamco. The mall expanded in 1990 and got a $3-million renovation 2007, including new signs and better pedestrian access, according to a 2015 sustainability assessment for the city by Wade Trim Associates Inc. and ArchiveDS, both based in Detroit.
The mall is owned and operated by GGP Inc., which last year defaulted on a loan and C-III, a company that handles properties in distress or default on behalf of bondholders, was brought in.
City officials anticipate the mall will be sold, and they want to let the owner, whoever that is, know that “we’re a willing partner. We’re not gonna be an obstructionist. We’re already chipping away on it on our end.”
For example, the city already approved a three-story, 57-unit residential facility for those 55 and older at Lakeside Circle, the road that encircles the mall. A condition of rezoning was an easement to the city that would provide access from area to Island Park via a bridge.
And later this month, the City Council is to discuss a liquor license for a restaurant in the former Linens ‘n Things store at 14455 Lakeside Circle.
Vanderpool said city officials have been talking for years about the future of Lakeside Mall and the immediate area and believe that a town center concept with mixed-use residential, creative live-work options, recreational opportunities and walkability will create synergy that will work.
“One destination place with lots of focal points in it,” Vanderpool said.
City consultants looked at four communities in metro Detroit that are small in scale and enjoy a mixed-use character to discover common design characteristics — the cities of Plymouth, Northville, Farmington and Royal Oak, according to the sustainability assessment.
It’s unclear how much development at Lakeside Mall would cost — and that would most likely be born by the mall owner or developer — but Vanderpool said the city will be ahead of the curve with a master plan in place for the mall site, making it easier for decisions city officials can make — zoning changes, liquor licenses and even incentives to lure businesses, an area that city officials are talking about with state legislators.
Vanderpool said the city would not directly be financially responsible for the redevelopment, adding “this is a complicated puzzle.” But, he said, there could be “creative financing mechanisms to make this work in the end.”
If the area redevelops, it could boost the housing and retail market in the city in a spot that may be exposed to more than 200,000 vehicles per day on Hall, Hayes and Schoenherr roads, Vanderpool said. Hall Road is one of the busiest retail corridors in the state.
Vanderpool said the mall is one of the top five employers in the city and is doing “very well,” which is why at least the most likely of two proposals in the sustainability assessment keeps the mall intact and development around it. The mall is two stories and has more than 150 stores and food court, according to the sustainability assessment.
Kevin Berry, senior vice president for GGP Inc., said of the city’s conceptual land use options: “it’s their vision.” A spokesman for C-III declined comment on the city concepts.
Wendy Batiste-Johnson, general manager of the Mall at Partridge Creek — an open-air mall just a few miles east of Lakeside Mall that is celebrating its 10th anniversary — said “competition is always healthy in any sector. I’m rooting for all businesses to succeed. I’m hopeful that whatever they decide, it’ll be an additional benefit to our community.”
