Summit Place Mall
Encyclopedia
Summit Place Mall, originally Pontiac Mall, was an enclosed shopping mall
located in Waterford Township
, Michigan
, United States. The 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) retail center, designed by Charles N. Agree, opened in 1963 with expansions between 1987 and 1993. At its peak, it had approximately 200 inline tenants and six anchor stores: Hudson's (later Marshall Field's
, then Macy's
), Sears, J. C. Penney
, Montgomery Ward
, Service Merchandise
and Kohl's
.
Following the opening of Great Lakes Crossing
in nearby Auburn Hills
in 1998, Summit Place Mall lost many of its tenants to this newer mall, also losing Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward to their respective bankruptcies in 1999 and 2000. In the 2000s, Summit Place became a dead mall
as the majority of its stores closed. Following the closure of Kohl's in March 2009, the mall concourses were closed off in September 2009. J.C. Penney and Macy's remained until early 2010, when they closed as well.
and Hudson's. Sears built a 181900 square feet (16,899.1 m²) store at the north end of the site in the early 1970s, although this store was not part of the mall at the time.
Pontiac Mall was expanded in 1988 with a small wing extending westward from Montgomery Ward
and ending at a 154500 square feet (14,353.5 m²) J.C. Penney
. Service Merchandise
later opened in a portion of the Hudson's building as well. Between 1989 and 1990, the mall was expanded again, a new wing extending from JCPenney towards a newly-built Kohl's
department store, and then northerly to the existing Sears store. Also included in the new construction was a food court
called Picnic Place. Once the mall expansion was complete, Pontiac Mall was renamed Summit Place Mall. After this expansion, the mall comprised more than 200 tenants, and would remain at that number until the late 1990s.
a year later. After the loss of these two anchors, Summit Place Mall began losing inline tenants, primarily to Great Lakes Crossing
, which opened in nearby Auburn Hills
in 1998.
General Growth Properties
sold Summit Place Mall in 2002 to California-based Namco Financial. Namco announced plans to change the name of the mall to Festivals of Waterford, and add a family entertainment center as well as a $700,000 kid's play area and a waterpark, the latter of which would be located in the former Montgomery Ward. That December, the children's play area opened, although the waterpark plans were canceled after the city decided not to risk the $20 million indoor waterpark, fearing that the income could not repay the debt.
Marshall Field's was renamed Macy's
in September 2006 after Marshall Field's parent company May Co. was purchased by Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.). In August 2007, Waterford Township explored the creation of a "Corridor Improvement Authority," or CIA, to look into future uses for the property. The mall continued to lose tenants throughout the mid-2000s, including all tenants in the food court, as well as the children's playplace. Kohl's closed on March 12, 2009. Following the closure of this anchor, the mall became 96% vacant. The entire mall closed, except for the three remaining anchors, on September 10, 2009. Both J.C. Penney and Macy's closed in March 2010, following closure announcements in January.
, Toys "R" Us/Kids "R" Us, Marshalls
(later AJWright), Media Play
and Circuit City, this strip lost all of its anchors except Toys "R" Us through the mid-2000s, although Big Lots
was added.
In 1991, Summit Place's developers opened Summit Crossings, a strip mall on the west side of the site, anchored by Office Max, Sports Authority
, Target
, and Farmer Jack
. Sports Authority and Farmer Jack are now vacant. Two years later, Summit North opened, also built by the mall's developers. Summit North contained Best Buy
which is now closed and has moved further down Telegraph Road (US-24) and Builders Square
, the latter of which was converted to Home Quarters before closing. Gander Mountain
built next to Best Buy in 1995. The former HQ/Builder's Square was partially converted to Steve & Barry's
in 2006, replacing a Steve & Barry's which closed at Great Lakes Crossing. This newer store closed in early 2009 with the chain's bankruptcy.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
located in Waterford Township
Waterford Township, Michigan
Waterford Charter Township is a charter township in north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 71,707.-History:...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States. The 1400000 square feet (130,064.3 m²) retail center, designed by Charles N. Agree, opened in 1963 with expansions between 1987 and 1993. At its peak, it had approximately 200 inline tenants and six anchor stores: Hudson's (later Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
, then Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
), Sears, J. C. Penney
J. C. Penney
-External links:*...
, Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
, Service Merchandise
Service Merchandise
Service Merchandise is an online retailer and former retailer chain of catalog showroom stores carrying fine jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and electronics that existed for 68 years...
and Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
.
Following the opening of Great Lakes Crossing
Great Lakes Crossing
Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is an enclosed shopping mall, super-regional in size, located in the city of Auburn Hills, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Developed and owned by Taubman Centers, Great Lakes Crossing Outlets features over 180 stores and restaurants, a food court, and a...
in nearby Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Auburn Hills is a city in Metro Detroit, Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. The city was formed in 1983 when Pontiac Township became the City of Auburn Hills.-Economy:...
in 1998, Summit Place Mall lost many of its tenants to this newer mall, also losing Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward to their respective bankruptcies in 1999 and 2000. In the 2000s, Summit Place became a dead mall
Dead mall
A dead mall or greyfield is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is dated or deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in the United States are considered "dead" when they have no surviving anchor store or successor that could serve as an entry into or...
as the majority of its stores closed. Following the closure of Kohl's in March 2009, the mall concourses were closed off in September 2009. J.C. Penney and Macy's remained until early 2010, when they closed as well.
History of Summit Place Mall
Summit Place Mall opened in 1963 under the name Pontiac Mall. At the time, it included approximately thirty inline tenants, as well as two anchor stores: Montgomery WardMontgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and Hudson's. Sears built a 181900 square feet (16,899.1 m²) store at the north end of the site in the early 1970s, although this store was not part of the mall at the time.
Pontiac Mall was expanded in 1988 with a small wing extending westward from Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and ending at a 154500 square feet (14,353.5 m²) J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
. Service Merchandise
Service Merchandise
Service Merchandise is an online retailer and former retailer chain of catalog showroom stores carrying fine jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and electronics that existed for 68 years...
later opened in a portion of the Hudson's building as well. Between 1989 and 1990, the mall was expanded again, a new wing extending from JCPenney towards a newly-built Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
department store, and then northerly to the existing Sears store. Also included in the new construction was a food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
called Picnic Place. Once the mall expansion was complete, Pontiac Mall was renamed Summit Place Mall. After this expansion, the mall comprised more than 200 tenants, and would remain at that number until the late 1990s.
Late 1990s-early 2000s: Decline
Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward closed in 1999 and 2000, respectively, as both chains declared bankruptcy. Also in 2000, Hudson's was remodeled, before being renamed Marshall Field'sMarshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
a year later. After the loss of these two anchors, Summit Place Mall began losing inline tenants, primarily to Great Lakes Crossing
Great Lakes Crossing
Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is an enclosed shopping mall, super-regional in size, located in the city of Auburn Hills, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Developed and owned by Taubman Centers, Great Lakes Crossing Outlets features over 180 stores and restaurants, a food court, and a...
, which opened in nearby Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills, Michigan
Auburn Hills is a city in Metro Detroit, Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. The city was formed in 1983 when Pontiac Township became the City of Auburn Hills.-Economy:...
in 1998.
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...
sold Summit Place Mall in 2002 to California-based Namco Financial. Namco announced plans to change the name of the mall to Festivals of Waterford, and add a family entertainment center as well as a $700,000 kid's play area and a waterpark, the latter of which would be located in the former Montgomery Ward. That December, the children's play area opened, although the waterpark plans were canceled after the city decided not to risk the $20 million indoor waterpark, fearing that the income could not repay the debt.
Mid-late 2000s
State legislative action in 2005 resulted in a law that would allow the owners of Summit Place to receive a tax abatement for redevelopment of the site. The proposed redevelopment called for demolition of half of the mall, and the rezoning of much of the property to include housing.Marshall Field's was renamed Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
in September 2006 after Marshall Field's parent company May Co. was purchased by Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.). In August 2007, Waterford Township explored the creation of a "Corridor Improvement Authority," or CIA, to look into future uses for the property. The mall continued to lose tenants throughout the mid-2000s, including all tenants in the food court, as well as the children's playplace. Kohl's closed on March 12, 2009. Following the closure of this anchor, the mall became 96% vacant. The entire mall closed, except for the three remaining anchors, on September 10, 2009. Both J.C. Penney and Macy's closed in March 2010, following closure announcements in January.
Peripheral development
Summit Place Mall is surrounded by multiple strip malls and big box stores, many of which have vacancies as well. One of the first strip malls in the vicinity of the mall opened in the late 1980s called Oakland Pointe. Originally anchored by MervynsMervyns
Mervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
, Toys "R" Us/Kids "R" Us, Marshalls
Marshalls
Marshalls, Inc., is a chain of American department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 750 conventional stores, as well as larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico. Marshalls expanded into Canada in March 2011...
(later AJWright), Media Play
Media Play
Media Play was a chain of retail stores founded in 1992 by Musicland that sold movies on video, DVDs, music, Electronics, video games, books, and games in the United States. Each store essentially contained a book store, a movie store, a music store, and a video game store under one roof. At...
and Circuit City, this strip lost all of its anchors except Toys "R" Us through the mid-2000s, although Big Lots
Big Lots
Big Lots, Inc. is a Fortune 500 retail corporation with annual revenues well over $4 billion.Its department stores focus mainly on selling closeout and overstock merchandise. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio, USA and currently operates over 1,400 stores in 47 states...
was added.
In 1991, Summit Place's developers opened Summit Crossings, a strip mall on the west side of the site, anchored by Office Max, Sports Authority
Sports Authority
The Sports Authority, Inc. is one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the United States. It is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, and operates more than 460 stores in 45 U.S...
, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, and Farmer Jack
Farmer Jack
Farmer Jack was a supermarket chain based in Detroit, Michigan. At its peak, it operated more than 100 stores, primarily in southeastern Michigan. In its final years the chain operated as a subsidiary of the New Jersey-based A&P Corporation...
. Sports Authority and Farmer Jack are now vacant. Two years later, Summit North opened, also built by the mall's developers. Summit North contained Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
which is now closed and has moved further down Telegraph Road (US-24) and Builders Square
Builders Square
Builders Square was founded as a big-box home improvement retailer headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. A subsidiary of Kmart, its format was quite similar to Home Depot, Menards and Lowe's with floor space of about . Builder's Square.com, Inc. has its headquarters in Edison, New Jersey...
, the latter of which was converted to Home Quarters before closing. Gander Mountain
Gander Mountain
Gander Mountain, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, marine, and other outdoor recreation products and services...
built next to Best Buy in 1995. The former HQ/Builder's Square was partially converted to Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual apparel. By mid-2008, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. The company liquidated all of its stores throughout 2008....
in 2006, replacing a Steve & Barry's which closed at Great Lakes Crossing. This newer store closed in early 2009 with the chain's bankruptcy.