It's Over-Northland to Close

[Hypestyles]

Looks like the mall is in worse shape than just losing Target...

http://www.freep.com/story/money/bus...sure/20782137/

the Northland property should be demolished and converted to residential townhouses/apartments/lofts.

[DetroitBoy]

the Northland property should be demolished and converted to residential townhouses/apartments/lofts.

Yes. Build the Brewster Projects North.

[MAcc]

the Northland property should be demolished and converted to residential townhouses/apartments/lofts.

Oakland County doesn't even have the cash to tear down Summit Place Mall on Telegraph & Elizabeth Lk, or the Bloomfield Park failure at Telegraph and Square Lk [[...or the Silverdome). All of which sit on property vastly more valuable than Northland Mall. Northland will be vacant blight for 40+ years. The Detroit creep has officially taken over southern Oakland County.

[dtowncitylover]

Oakland County doesn't even have the cash to tear down Summit Place Mall on Telegraph & Elizabeth Lk, or the Bloomfield Park failure at Telegraph and Square Lk [[...or the Silverdome). All of which sit on property vastly more valuable than Northland Mall. Northland will be vacant blight for 40+ years. The Detroit creep has officially taken over southern Oakland County.

While I hardly doubt that it's going to sit for 40 years [[but they probably said that about Packard too), when will LBP sell the SE Corner of Oakland County to Wayne County?

"It's becoming to undesirable. It's not sprawly enough."

[cmubryan]

Oakland County doesn't even have the cash to tear down Summit Place Mall on Telegraph & Elizabeth Lk, or the Bloomfield Park failure at Telegraph and Square Lk [[...or the Silverdome). All of which sit on property vastly more valuable than Northland Mall. Northland will be vacant blight for 40+ years. The Detroit creep has officially taken over southern Oakland County.

Right cause Ferndale, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, Berkley, Birmingham, Pleasant Ridge, etc. are really deteriorating significantly and are in a state of abandonment.

[Bham1982]

Right cause Ferndale, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, Berkley, Birmingham, Pleasant Ridge, etc. are really deteriorating significantly and are in a state of abandonment.

True, but go a mile or so off Woodward in both directions south of, say, Maple, and I think there's some modest decline. Maple and John R doesn't look as good as it did 20 years ago. It sorta looks like crap.

[DTWflyer]

True, but go a mile or so off Woodward in both directions south of, say, Maple, and I think there's some modest decline. Maple and John R doesn't look as good as it did 20 years ago. It sorta looks like crap.

You sure like to over-exaggerate on the amount of decline/blight/crime on anything that isn't in Birmingham, including in perfectly fine areas of Southeast Michigan.

Things change... I wrote-off the office building complex and industrial corridor along I-75 through Troy a few years ago at the depth of the recession. However, in fact its bounced-back and filled-up remarkably over the past 5 years ago. Heck, even the old Circuit City outbuilding at Oakland Mall is being rebuilt into something new.

I'd argue that Clawson in fact is doing much better than it was about 10-15 years ago. Nothing like its hey-day, but at least now it has an identify, has gotten some new investment in the downtown intersection of Main & 14 and real estate is holding is own.

[Bham1982]

You sure like to over-exaggerate on the amount of decline/blight/crime on anything that isn't in Birmingham, including in perfectly fine areas of Southeast Michigan.

I think parts of Birmingham are worse too, so maybe I'm just too negative. 14 mile looks much worse. A few blocks just north of 14 and east of Woodward look worse for wear too. Parts of Bloomfield look worse too [[actually most parts of the Twp., almost all of W. Bloomfield looks worse, but not the city).

To me, when I drive Maple east of Coolidge, it looks much worse than in the past. Abandoned K-Mart for years, now being replaced by some warehouse monstrosity, lots of industrial/flex space sitting vacant, rundown retail. It doesn't look that good to me. 1960s-1970s era construction has aged very badly, and yes, even in my neck of the woods. You slowly see lower class stuff like dollars stores and cheap takeouts seeping into areas in South Oakland not right along the Woodward corridor.

I do agree that Clawson is arguably improved. It looked semi-dumpy 20 years ago, and downtown looks nice now. But areas just to the east and west along 14 mile definitely look worse [[Oakland Mall area looks awful). Those 60-era apartment corridors [[Crooks between 14 and 16) look pretty bad too.

John R. south of 14 looks like a semi-slum. I can't imagine that area being desirable over the long run.

Pretty much all of Macomb looks even worse. I drove Van Dyke recently and basically the entire street, from Warren to Utica, looks like hell. Sterling Heights is incredibly ugly.

[cmubryan]

I think parts of Birmingham are worse too, so maybe I'm just too negative. 14 mile looks much worse. A few blocks just north of 14 and east of Woodward look worse for wear too. Parts of Bloomfield look worse too [[actually most parts of the Twp., almost all of W. Bloomfield looks worse, but not the city).

To me, when I drive Maple east of Coolidge, it looks much worse than in the past. Abandoned K-Mart for years, now being replaced by some warehouse monstrosity, lots of industrial/flex space sitting vacant, rundown retail. It doesn't look that good to me. 1960s-1970s era construction has aged very badly, and yes, even in my neck of the woods. You slowly see lower class stuff like dollars stores and cheap takeouts seeping into areas in South Oakland not right along the Woodward corridor.

I do agree that Clawson is arguably improved. It looked semi-dumpy 20 years ago, and downtown looks nice now. But areas just to the east and west along 14 mile definitely look worse [[Oakland Mall area looks awful). Those 60-era apartment corridors [[Crooks between 14 and 16) look pretty bad too.

John R. south of 14 looks like a semi-slum. I can't imagine that area being desirable over the long run.

Pretty much all of Macomb looks even worse. I drove Van Dyke recently and basically the entire street, from Warren to Utica, looks like hell. Sterling Heights is incredibly ugly.

LOL....anything look good to you? BTW W Bloomfield Twp has definitely had a little bit of a retail renaissance in its "downtown" area of Maple and Orchard Lake. That corner looks a helluva lot better than it did 10 to 15 years ago.

[motz]

To me, when I drive Maple east of Coolidge, it looks much worse than in the past. Abandoned K-Mart for years, now being replaced by some warehouse monstrosity, lots of industrial/flex space sitting vacant, rundown retail. It doesn't look that good to me. 1960s-1970s era construction has aged very badly, and yes, even in my neck of the woods. You slowly see lower class stuff like dollars stores and cheap takeouts seeping into areas in South Oakland not right along the Woodward corridor.

I do agree that Clawson is arguably improved. It looked semi-dumpy 20 years ago, and downtown looks nice now. But areas just to the east and west along 14 mile definitely look worse [[Oakland Mall area looks awful). Those 60-era apartment corridors [[Crooks between 14 and 16) look pretty bad too.

Clawson is MASSIVELY different than it was even 5 years ago. It's really kind of on the upswing as a little downtown with decent schools and affordable real estate. If you think it "arguably" looks better, you obviously didn't spend much time there.

And the K-Mart you mentioned is now an MJR. Not "some warehouse monstrosity". It's super painfully obvious that you absolutely love talking shit about places you never go, considering that MJR has been FINISHED for like 6 months, and under construction for over a year. Yeah, Maple doesn't look great, but I don't think it'd ever look that great because it's not meant to be Big Beaver 2.0.

So Bham1982, please continue to talk about things you don't stay current on, I'm really curious about what you think about things you visit like, once a year.

[DTWflyer]

I think parts of Birmingham are worse too, so maybe I'm just too negative. 14 mile looks much worse. A few blocks just north of 14 and east of Woodward look worse for wear too. Parts of Bloomfield look worse too [[actually most parts of the Twp., almost all of W. Bloomfield looks worse, but not the city).

To me, when I drive Maple east of Coolidge, it looks much worse than in the past. Abandoned K-Mart for years, now being replaced by some warehouse monstrosity, lots of industrial/flex space sitting vacant, rundown retail. It doesn't look that good to me. 1960s-1970s era construction has aged very badly, and yes, even in my neck of the woods. You slowly see lower class stuff like dollars stores and cheap takeouts seeping into areas in South Oakland not right along the Woodward corridor.

I do agree that Clawson is arguably improved. It looked semi-dumpy 20 years ago, and downtown looks nice now. But areas just to the east and west along 14 mile definitely look worse [[Oakland Mall area looks awful). Those 60-era apartment corridors [[Crooks between 14 and 16) look pretty bad too.

John R. south of 14 looks like a semi-slum. I can't imagine that area being desirable over the long run.

Pretty much all of Macomb looks even worse. I drove Van Dyke recently and basically the entire street, from Warren to Utica, looks like hell. Sterling Heights is incredibly ugly.

Debby Downer? Seriously, everything in your mind seems to be in decline, looks worse, etc. I'm not sure what to say to that, but there is a lot more going on these parts than just during the causal, periodic drive-by.

I do agree, that much of the 1960s-1970s era construction, primarily commerical and industrial properties, have not aged well and the architecture has not served the test of time. However, due to the development patterns and suburban growth of this region, it heavily dominates the 1st & 2nd ring suburbs of the region. Troy, Southfield, Warren, Livonia all have a lot of this. This isn't just a Detroit thing either - there are plenty of places in suburbs around even booming places like Denver that have not aged well either.

Birmingham - I used to live in that area north of 14 Mile & West of Woodward, and just went on run through there this morning. There are a significant number of tear-downs/reconstructions going on in that area. That area for decades has always had the smallest houses in Birmingham. Big deal. Heck, Birmingham has a half-dead 1960s era strip mall on Adams Rd [[where A&P and then Shore used to be).

Dollar Stores and cheap take-out are what people want. Obviously there is a market so they go in.

The Troy Motor Mall, most of the dealerships have heavily remodeled [[in many cases forced to by the manufacturers).

Oakland Mall and that whole area, well if you've been by there in the month of December, it is definitely one busy place around the holidays.