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Growing up in North Oakland County, I vividly remember my Mother taking me to the Summit Place Mall as a child. It was a bustling and energetic place at the time, and I have many fond memories of the place. Around the mid-2000's, my family's trips to the mall became much more infrequent as its tenants fled to newly-opened Great Lakes Crossing and The Village of Rochester Hills. The last time I visited the mall was in 2006, when it was >50% occupied. It was quite saddening to see such a magnificent structure on the verge of death; not long after, the mall closed in 2009. I went there the other day out of curiosity for the first time in years. I expected a pitiful sight, but nothing could have prepared me for how far the mall has descended. Sears is the only remaining tenant, and I imagine it must be hanging by a thread. The storefronts are grimy and dilapidated, with tiles and bricks falling off everywhere. The parking lot is full of enormous potholes and weeds, and a gigantic sinkhole behind the former J.C. Penny is at least four feet deep. Much of the glass has been smashed by vandals and is now covered with plywood, and the once beautiful landscaping is dominated by dead trees and overgrown shrubs. The retail around the mall hasn't fared any better; the Target, Best Buy, Gander Mountain and Steve & Barry's big box stores have all closed, and surrounding strip malls are a ghost town. It's such a shame that a once-thriving area has become a desolate wasteland. Does anybody know the current status of the mall area or its prospective future? I'm extremely curious and haven't been able to find anything online that's up-to-date. Thanks for your responses!
The storefronts are grimy and dilapidated, with tiles and bricks falling off everywhere. The parking lot is full of enormous potholes and weeds, and a gigantic sinkhole behind the former J.C. Penny is at least four feet deep. Much of the glass has been smashed by vandals and is now covered with plywood, and the once beautiful landscaping is dominated by dead trees and overgrown shrubs. The retail around the mall hasn't fared any better; the Target, Best Buy, Gander Mountain and Steve & Barry's big box stores have all closed, and surrounding strip malls are a ghost town. It's such a shame that a once-thriving area has become a desolate wasteland.
Your description is one typically reserved to describing inner-city Detroit, but alas, this is the fate of a far-flung suburb. I don't know what it will take for folks to realize that these types of developments will always be treated as disposable, "throw away" areas. Once something newer and shinier is built down the highway, the former is left to rot, leaving large swaths of our landscape in zombie-land degradation. If we want to live in a beautiful and inspiring environment, the endless sea of sprawl must stop.
The only thing I heard about the site was some supposed baseball field being built for kids; but passing by there some time ago I haven't seen any new construction or activity so that's probably a bust.
"Desolate Wasteland" is the best way to describe Summit Place though. I'm surprised Sam's Club and Red Lobster haven't closed down; esp. after Target left. I think the only new retail on the site is the Dollar General on "Summit West" or whatever it's called but that ain't much to talk about. lol Oakland Pointe across the street in Pontiac seems to be a bit better off - they still have Toys "R" Us and Old Country Buffet and I believe Big Lots is still there along with some other smaller businesses. The old Mervyn's is still vacant and has been for a long time.
I honestly don't know what will happen to Summit Place itself though. My bets are that the entire mall will be torn down (and leave Sears as a stand alone store - if it stays that is) and the land will be a brownfield or used for housing new retail or whatever the Waterford city govt. decides to do with it.
Summit Place died in relation to the death of Pontiac. There were problems with crime, more specifically attacks in the parking lot. Given that most shoppers are women, why would they choose to go there when Auburn Hills and Orion Twp are much safer?
Incidentally, it's incorrect to think of Pontiac as a suburb. It was and is its own (smaller) urban city.
Your description is one typically reserved to describing inner-city Detroit, but alas, this is the fate of a far-flung suburb. I don't know what it will take for folks to realize that these types of developments will always be treated as disposable, "throw away" areas. Once something newer and shinier is built down the highway, the former is left to rot, leaving large swaths of our landscape in zombie-land degradation. If we want to live in a beautiful and inspiring environment, the endless sea of sprawl must stop.
I agree. It's completely soul crushing to see how disposable and unstable our communities are. Take Summit Place for instance: it was expanded to its current size and completely occupied in the early 1990's, and was on the verge of death less than fifteen years later. I just get so tired of seeing perfectly good structures abandoned and blighted in the prime of their lives. I'm all for property rights and economic progress, but something needs to be done to discourage this wastefulness. Perhaps cities should be given more power to hold these companies accountable for their blighted properties and brownfield tax incentives should be expanded to encourage renovating existing structures and building on already developed land instead of needlessly destroying forests and farms. Cities and townships especially need to work together and say no to developers to prevent retail over-saturation. Competition between municipalities for a commercial tax base is a huge cause of this phenomenon; in the end nobody wins.
Summit Place died in relation to the death of Pontiac. There were problems with crime, more specifically attacks in the parking lot. Given that most shoppers are women, why would they choose to go there when Auburn Hills and Orion Twp are much safer?
Incidentally, it's incorrect to think of Pontiac as a suburb. It was and is its own (smaller) urban city.
Summit Place is located near the border of Pontiac, but so is Great Lakes Crossing. The problem with its location could be attributed more to a lack of freeway access that hindered its visibility and accessibility. The same clientele that caused problems at Summit Place now patronize Great Lakes Crossing, which is still thriving and successful, so I don't believe that it was the main force behind the mall's demise.
It's not located near the border, it's on the border. When I was growing up it was the Pontiac Mall. Great Lakes Crossing is at the far northern border of Auburn Hills. No doubt lack of proximity to expressways played a role as well, but I think it's naïve (maybe not the righ word, I'm not trying to be confrontational) to think the series of attacks on shoppers didn't play an important role in its demise.
Your description is one typically reserved to describing inner-city Detroit, but alas, this is the fate of a far-flung suburb. I don't know what it will take for folks to realize that these types of developments will always be treated as disposable, "throw away" areas. Once something newer and shinier is built down the highway, the former is left to rot, leaving large swaths of our landscape in zombie-land degradation. If we want to live in a beautiful and inspiring environment, the endless sea of sprawl must stop.
ForStarters, I imagine this is your idea of 'payback' from this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ForStarters
I've lived in downtown Detroit for several years. Never have I seen 50 bums at once. Ever. It'd be a rare occurrence to even see 5 that were together in a single area unless you were near a shelter, soup kitchen, or an area where they live. BTW, they are human beings, not zombies. The fact that you can so easily dehumanize people speaks volumes about your character. Callousness towards others, especially those whom are often mentally ill, war vets, or victims of terrible lives disgusts me.
If you are too haughty to deal with coming into the city, then don't. There are millions of others that have no problems in Detroit every day, myself included.
Feel better now?
For the people reading this thread who want to know about Summit Place Mall in Waterford Township - beginning in 1963 it was the only shopping mall available to North Oakland County which includes Waterford, Pontiac, Waterford, Lake Orion, Oxford, Clarkston/Springfield Township, etc. In 1998 Great Lakes Crossing opened up and pretty much killed off Summit Place. The plan in the mid 2000's was to redevelop the property from commercial to residential, but the Great Recession pretty much killed off the project.
Summit Place is located near the border of Pontiac, but so is Great Lakes Crossing. The problem with its location could be attributed more to a lack of freeway access that hindered its visibility and accessibility. The same clientele that caused problems at Summit Place now patronize Great Lakes Crossing, which is still thriving and successful, so I don't believe that it was the main force behind the mall's demise.
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.
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