STERLING HEIGHTS (WWJ) -- The project has been delayed a bit, but Sterling Heights' mayor was all enthusiasm, zero doubt, while discussing the Lakeside City Center development this week.
In a live interview on Friday, Mayor Michael Taylor told WWJ Newsradio 950's Jackie Paige there's been some movement on the massive project, saying: "We expect, hopefully, that we'll see progress towards demolition as early as the fall of this year."
The 1.5-million-square-foot enclosed Lakeside Mall, located Hall Road and Schoenherr, opened in 1976, and officially closed forever on July 1, 2024.
Currently, ambitious plans for the property include as many as 3,000 multi-family housing units, Taylor said, "So this is like building a new city from scratch."
In December, the Sterling Heights City Council approved a master agreement with the mall owners. And Taylor said they're still on track for a groundbreaking at the site as early as late 2025.
The city has said the redevelopment is projected to positively impact the region by $1 billion.
Lakeside City Center Project
"It's going to be like a city center," Taylor said. "They're gonna take down the mall; they're gonna leave some of the department stores. But approximately 3,000 new housing units, a couple hundred-thousand square feet of new commercial office space."
"I know that there's discussions about potentially a convention center at Lakeside," he added. "So, it's an exciting development. It's slowly making progress, and I expect this year is going to be a big step forward for Lakeside's redevelopment."
While Taylor said "some" existing department stores may remain, it's unclear which stores that may be.
Macy's two weeks ago announced it was permanently closing its department store at Lakeside, as well as its store at Oakland Mall in Troy. Earlier reports had said Lakeside's new owners agreed to keep Macy’s open as the property was redeveloped.
Currently, the JCPenney store at Lakeside remains open.
While Taylor declined to speculate as to how the new city center may impact crime in Sterling Heights, he told Paige that the city would likely hire new police officers and new firefighters to effectively deliver services in that area.
Questions about the Lakeside Town Center project? Sterling Heights has provided an FAQ, available at this link.