STERLING HEIGHTS (WWJ) - Out with the old and in with the new --- it's what the Lakeside Mall owner plans to do after proposing to tear down most of the property to make way for a new mixed-use project.
Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor spoke with WWJ's Sandra McNeill about the new development put forward by Out of the Box Ventures — who purchased the property three years ago.
Taylor said the plans call to demolish most of the landmark mall in Sterling Heights while building a $1.06 billion mixed-use development in its place.
The project also seeks out over $45 million in public bond funding to cover the costs of roadways, sewer lines, landscaping and more.
Taylor expressed his excitement for the proposed change while likening the mall's current condition to an "abandoned town."
"There are still some stores open and we're doing what we can to support the retailers that are still there, but this million-and-a-half-square-foot indoor, enclosed shopping mall model is not for the future."
"There's an opportunity for a much more vibrant feel there and this is the first step towards really a transformational project for the entire region," Taylor told McNeill.
The Lakeland Mall property was sold in 2019 for $26.5 million to One of the Box Ventures, a subsidiary of Miami, Fla.-based Lionheart Capital LLC.
Since then, its fate remained uncertain.
Plans revealed some department stores would remain standing, but the mall's main shopping area would be torn to the ground to make way for the new development.
The proposal could be Macomb County's most expensive private mixed-use development in history, Taylor estimated.
The city counsel is scheduled to meet her Out of the Box Ventures on the future plans for Lakeside Mall and is expected to enter a memorandum of understanding with the owner.
Taylor said the owners plan to keep 'Lakeside' in the development's news name, dubbed Lakeland Town Center.
"What its going to look like is an entire new city," Taylor explained. "What we're talking here is redeveloping 110 acres of property at Hall Road and Schoenherr."
Taylor said the project calls for roughly 2,800 new housing units, a hotel; 150,000 new square feet of retail and dining space; a loop around Lakeside circle for walking or as a bike trail; 60,000 square feet of office space, and a 120-room hotel.
"Just a really vibrant downtown, city-center atmosphere," the mayor added. "It's going to be something that's completely different in Macomb County something that we don't have any where else [here]... This complete redevelopment of a parcel this big with a unified vision to improve the shopping, dining and retail experience for people and also provide almost 3,000 housing unit. It's going to be incredible."
A proposal for parks, streetscapes and other infrastructure plans would come from a donation of an estimated 30 acres.
If the project stays on track, officials said demolition of the mall could start in the next year, bringing to close a period of uncertainty in the future of the shopping center.