Future of Summit Place Mall in Waterford Township?

[dmetro]

Originally Posted by FF-fan

Yeah cause when shoppers from Pontiac come to GLC, it's to cause trouble. Hoodlums come from all over, not just Pontiac but other cities too and they go to every mall. Besides, the security at GLC is much more present (IMO) compared to what I remember from Summit Place during the late 90s - and that was at the height of the theft and petty crimes committed in the parking lots of Summit Place.

Well, naturally not all of them were from Pontiac, but you have to acknowledge that when a Mall is located in a lower-income area, there tends to be more shoplifting and other crime. Anyway, I still think that crime wasn't the primary reason that Summit Place declined. Eastland and Northland are still hanging on and they're near Detroit, which is far worse than Pontiac. I think that the ownership of Summit Place didn't show enough creativity and initiative to attract new tenants. Eastland flourished under new management which began aggressively seeking new tenants for both the mall and surrounding property to increase traffic. Summit's new owners never offered solutions other than a pie-in-the sky $20 million waterpark for one of the former anchors. In the mid-2000's, they didn't even have a website. Really? If the Summit had been under competent management, it probably wouldn't be anywhere near its peak but might have had a fighting chance.

[PAV1983]

Don't know what's going on with this place. It's been sitting vacant for almost four years now. I'm surprised the roof hasn't starting caving in on it yet. I'm just wondering what's going on with the mall. Has anyone heard anything lately. Last thing I heard, they were going to tear down the mall and build a race track there. I also heard Sears only sells tools and exercise equipment. Is that true?

[Cliffie]

A race track in Waterford? Well, I can think of worse investment ideas, Detroit Racecourse being long gone, but how much of Pontiac are you going to tear out to put in the stables?

I suspect someone is trying to sell or lease the property for way too much, or someone is having a hard time coming to terms with the sale of the property.

[PAV1983]

I think I know what they need to do to bring the mall back to life, but it's just a matter of doing it. They need to try to get interesting stores and tenants in there that Great Lakes Crossing doesn't have that will bring in business. Easier said than done though. I am working on something for fun (The New Summit Place Mall) and I will upload it when I'm done. It was something I did for fun.

This just in, it sounds like the mall is just about to be sold; they are just waiting on the terms of the sale (sale on hold), according to this article in the Oakland Press: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/gener...-show-canceled

Hopefully we find out in the coming days or weeks.