Quote Originally Posted by dtowncitylover View Post
Wasn't Saks Fifth Avenue in Troy built in what was considered the middle of nowhere. It would've made more sense to build it in downtown Birmingham or Grosse Pointe. But the builders had foresight and knew the area was prime for suburban, affluent expansion
Malls almost always are built where there isn't much in the immediate vicinity, but they don't precede the available population--the key is that the relevant populated area is just much bigger when you are located by large roads and have lots of free parking. If you think that the shops in New Center are going to serve people who have to travel relatively far to get there, then yes, then upscale shopping could precede an upscale local population. That doesn't seem like a great bet though.