Universal Mall
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| Universal Mall | |
| Facts and statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | Warren, Michigan,  USA |
| Opening date | 1965 |
| Management | Universal Mall Properties |
| Owner | Universal Mall Properties |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (3 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 765,000 square feet (71,070.8 m²)[1] |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Website | http://www.universalmall.biz |
Universal Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Warren, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1965 under the name Universal City, the mall features A.J. Wright and Burlington Coat Factory as anchor stores, with three vacant anchor spaces formerly occupied by Montgomery Ward, Mervyns, and Value City; respectively, these closed in 2001, 2006 and 2008. In addition, the mall features a food court and discount movie theater.
Universal Mall is classified as a dead mall, due to a high rate of vacancy and low customer traffic; as a result, it has been slated for closure and demolition since late 2007,[2] although as of 2008 the mall still operates.
[edit] History
Originally named Universal City, the mall opened in 1965, with Montgomery Ward, Woolworth, and Federal Department Store (a Detroit-based chain) as its anchor stores. By 1979, Federal had closed and was converted to Crowley's.[3] A western wing with Mervyns was added to the mall in 1987; shortly afterward, the eastern wing was renovated to include a movie theater and food court.[3] After the addition of Mervyns and the food court, the mall was re-named "Universal Mall".
In 1997, the F. W. Woolworth chain closed the last of its stores, leaving a large vacancy in the northern wing. Three years later, Montgomery Ward closed the last of its stores as well. Also in 2000, Value City acquired the Crowley's location at Universal Mall and two other Detroit-area malls.[4] Many of Universal Mall's major chain tenants either moved to other malls, or closed up entirely. By the end of the 1990s, Universal Mall's occupancy was below 35%.[1]
Universal Mall Properties acquired the mall in 1999, and mall renovations began soon afterward. Burlington Coat Factory opened that year, displacing the former Woolworth and most of the other stores in the northern wing;[3][5] A.J. Wright opened a year later.[3] Plans were also made to divide the former Montgomery Ward space into smaller shops.[6] Eventually, occupancy at Universal Mall rebounded to 75%,[3] although by 2007 it had declined to 48% (in part due to the closure of Mervyns' Michigan operations in 2006).[7]
Because the mall is largely vacant, it has been slated for demolition. A "brownfield" application was approved by the state of Michigan for the mall; this permit will freeze property taxes until the redevelopment is finished.[8] The new shopping center was originally to have featured 600,000 square feet (55,741.8 m²) of retail space, with A.J. Wright, Burlington Coat Factory, Value City, and the movie theater remaining in their existing locations.[7]
As of mid-2008, however, there is still no official redevelopment plan for the mall, which remains in operation.[9] In addition, Value City announced the closure of its Universal Mall location (and two other stores in the Detroit area); the Universal Mall store closed in March 2008.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ a b The changing face of malls
- ^ Universal Mall may be demolished
- ^ a b c d e Universal Mall history
- ^ VALUE CITY TO REVAMP 4 CROWLEY'S. (Brief article)
- ^ Universal Mall to fill Woolworth's space with Burlington Coat Factory.(Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., Universal Mall Properties L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
- ^ Aging malls fight to remake their images
- ^ a b Crain's Detroit Business
- ^ State OKs 'brownfield' for struggling Universal Mall
- ^ Franz, Norb (2008-02-10). Universal Mall overdue for redo. Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ Franz, Norb (2008-02-05). Value City closings to leave huge void in malls. Macomb Daily. Retrieved on 2008-02-07.
[edit] External links
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