Twelve Oaks Mall, Novi, MI

Twelve Oaks Mall is one of the upscale super malls in Michigan. This mall is located in Novi, a suburb of Detroit. It was built by Taubman Centers in 1977, as part of a three mall development. The other two malls are Fairlane Town Center and Lakeside Mall, which opened a year earlier. The mall offers 200 stores with 5 anchors. Retail space is 1.5 million square feet total with 122,000 to 300,000 square feet per anchor. The mall offers over 7,000 parking spaces. The square footage of the mall includes two floors for all but Macy's, which has 3 malls.

At the time the mall opened Lord and Taylor, Hudson's, JC Penney, and Sears were the anchors. The mall actually sets on a site of an old gravel pit. The development plans began in 1971, and construction began in 1975. The mall was partly built to stop landfill from being placed in the old gravel pit. Over the years changes occurred to the mall through renovations. The closed United Artists theater was demolished to make room for the Lifestyle Cafe food court. It also allowed floor kiosks to be added in 2002. In 2005 a $63 million expansion occurred offering more store space. Nordstrom was able to move into the mall as an anchor at this point. Macy's, Hudson's originally, also got an upgrade.

The architecture of Twelve Oaks Mall is unlike the other malls. Its interior offers wood railings with steel bars, terrazzo flooring, and sculptures. There are also a number of modern art pieces and trees. The renovations to the mall included adding an elevator, seating areas, new flooring, and much more. The interior has a lot of silver and mirrored accents as a result of the renovation.

Mall hours of operation are Monday through Saturday 10am to 9pm, Sunday 12pm to 6pm. Events are held at the mall including photos with Santa. During the year one can expect to see sales events at a number of different stores. Ticketmaster also has a box office at the mall for anyone wishing to see a concert in the Detroit area.

Armani Exchange, Abercrombie, Aerie, Aeropostale, Aldo, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor Loft, Artisans Jewelers, Aveda, Bachrach, Bakers, Banana Republic, Bare Essentuals, Bath and Body Works, Bebe, Belli Culture, and Bestsey Johnson are a few of the 200 stores inside Twelve Oaks. Borders Express, Brighton Collectibles, Brookstone, Build a Bear, Cache, Carnival Cuts, Champ Sports, Charlotte Russe, Chico's, Delia's, Fine Touch Tailoring, Finish Line, For Love 21, Forever 21, Fossil, FYE, GameStop, Hollister, Intrinsic Collections, J Crew, and Janie and Jack are a few of the other locations.

The mall is not without a decent selection of food including A&W, Auntie Anne's, California Pizza Kitchen, Dale and Thomas Popcorn, Great Steak and Potato, Haagen Dazs, Just Baked, Kerby's Koney Island, and Lakeshore Grill. Also for restaurants one has Mrs. Fields, Nestle Toll House, Nordstrom Cafe Bistro, Olga's Kitchen, Pretzel Time, Quizno's, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Sanders, Sbarro's, and Starbucks.