Eastland goes into Receivership

[Lowell]

"Harper Woods fixture Eastland Center has gone into receivership after missing several payments on outstanding loans on the property.

The mall’s owner, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. — the same company that defaulted on the now-shuttered Northland Center — owed $42.5 million as of April on $46 million in loans taken out against the property in 2006, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court by lender U.S. Bank National Association."

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-loan-payments

This has to be one of the less surprising announcements but sad nonetheless. Was Eastland the next mega mall after Northland?

[animatedmartian]

Yep. After Hudson built Northland in '54, they built Eastland in '57 and Westland in '65.

[mtburb]

Yep. After Hudson built Northland in '54, they built Eastland in '57 and Westland in '65.

And after they merged with Dayton out of Minneapolis in '69, built Southland in '70.

[A2Mike]

The fate of the old Hudson's locations has not been encouraging. One aspect of local retailing which has mystified me is that Macy's has locations at both Somerset and, only a few miles away, at Oakland Mall. Wouldn't it make more sense for Federated Dept. Stores, which owns both Blomingdale's and Macy's, to make the Somerset location a Bloomingdale's? Somerset is the only place in Michigan which could support a Bloomingdale's, and making the Macy's at Oakland the only one nearby would make it and the mall more viable. The only roadblock there might be may be the contractual agreements Somerset management has with some other upscale retailers there, but many retailers often like to be near like stores for increased total traffic.

[mtburb]

The fate of the old Hudson's locations has not been encouraging. One aspect of local retailing which has mystified me is that Macy's has locations at both Somerset and, only a few miles away, at Oakland Mall. Wouldn't it make more sense for Federated Dept. Stores, which owns both Blomingdale's and Macy's, to make the Somerset location a Bloomingdale's? Somerset is the only place in Michigan which could support a Bloomingdale's, and making the Macy's at Oakland the only one nearby would make it and the mall more viable. The only roadblock there might be may be the contractual agreements Somerset management has with some other upscale retailers there, but many retailers often like to be near like stores for increased total traffic.

The Macy's at Southland still enjoys it's dominance on the Downriver market, it even received a new interior facade paint job during the recent remodeling of the entire mall.

[Bham1982]

The fate of the old Hudson's locations has not been encouraging. One aspect of local retailing which has mystified me is that Macy's has locations at both Somerset and, only a few miles away, at Oakland Mall. Wouldn't it make more sense for Federated Dept. Stores, which owns both Blomingdale's and Macy's, to make the Somerset location a Bloomingdale's? Somerset is the only place in Michigan which could support a Bloomingdale's, and making the Macy's at Oakland the only one nearby would make it and the mall more viable. The only roadblock there might be may be the contractual agreements Somerset management has with some other upscale retailers there, but many retailers often like to be near like stores for increased total traffic.

It probably wouldn't work, because stores don't like to enter markets unless there's room for additional outlets, and Bloomingdales probably wouldn't work in MI outside of Somerset. And Bloomingdales might not even be successful at Somerset as it's considered a bit edgy compared to, say, Nordstrom [[its closest competitor) and Blommingdales has been less successful outside the coastal markets [[Nordstrom, in contrast, does extremely well in Middle America).

MI fashion tastes are conservative, esp. at the high end. Saks and Neiman Marcus are very successful here but sell tons of conservative stuff for rich Midwestern women of a certain age.

And the Macys at Somerset doesn't really compete with Macys at Oakland because the selection is so differentiated. Macys, more than any other U.S. department store, runs wildly differentiated stores catering to individual markets. The Macys in Manhattan is among the world's leading vendors of Gucci, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, while on the other extreme, some Macys look like discount outlet stores.

[SyGolden48236]

I don't think this is a surprise to anybody on the east side. Eastland has become a cesspool of crime. Robberies inside the mall and out in the parking lot are common. Shootings in the mall, shootings in the parking lot, carjackings, open drug dealing inside the mall, people walking through the mall smoking weed are frequent occurrences.

People around here do not feel safe going there unless it is first thing in the morning, before 11:00 am, and even then it is a crap shoot and you don't go there unless there is absolutely no way to avoid it. My kids were forbidden to go there years ago and now as adults they won't go near the place. My wife will not go there either.

I suspect the the mall will close soon as Northland did. The big problem will be that once the mall closes Harper Woods will tank financially. They are already in dire straights as the taxable value of homes in that town is woefully low. The tax revenue from the mall and the court fines generated by crime in the mall are the only thing keeping Harper Woods afloat.

Eastland has been in serious decline for the last 15 to 20 years.

[Dan Wesson]

Hmmm... I wonder how much Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. has diverted elsewhere of the 46 million that they are now defaulting on.

You can't keep buying venues that are on a downward trajectory and stay in bidness too long unless they got the angles figured out.

Just sayin....

[animatedmartian]

Hmmm... I wonder how much Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. has diverted elsewhere of the 46 million that they are now defaulting on.

You can't keep buying venues that are on a downward trajectory and stay in bidness too long unless they got the angles figured out.

Just sayin....

Yea, these moves seem pre-planned. They definitely don't seem short on cash.

Ashkenazy Acquisition invests in office, retail and residential properties in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. The company says it owns more than 100 properties collectively worth more than $10 billion.

http://www.law360.com/articles/65423...-ny-hotel-deal


They're also working on updating some major downtown Boston landmarks.

[313WX]

Macomb Mall will be next.

[animatedmartian]

Macomb Mall will be next.

Macomb Mall is currently being renovated.

http://www.macombdaily.com/lifestyle...rs-restaurants

• Bath & Body Works has remodeled• A 3,000-square-foot White Barn Candle Company and Swedish clothing retailer H&M will both open in the fall
• Eye care center Visionworks will open a 2,600-square-foot store next to Dick’s Sport Goods later this summer
• Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and national jeweler Zales, have both signed lease agreements
• Longtime tenant The Pretzel Peddler has renovated and relocated
• Piercing Pagoda is renovating its kiosk and will relocate near Kay Jewelers.
• Charley’s Grilled Subs is relocating next to Sears
• Pretty Things, a women’s clothing boutique, will soon begin construction on a new facility
• 1,000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria has signed a lease to join Massage Green Spa, AT&T and Chipotle and Potbelly Sandwich shop in the outbuilding near the Chili’s restaurant.
Officials say they are still working to replace the discount movie theater Silver Cinema, which closed in April. It may be replaced by another movie chain, food court or retailer in 2016.

[Danny]

Eastland Mall into receivership, next it will be closure.

[313WX]

Macomb Mall is currently being renovated.

http://www.macombdaily.com/lifestyle...rs-restaurants

Same thing happened to Eastland in 2006 when the new owners acquired it.

The scam is that these NY investment firms purchase properties that are on a downward projectory of no return, take out loans which only require interest payments initially, then default on the loans when the principal payments are due. The lender of course always insures these loans, so there's no way for them to lose. In the meanwhile, they're able to claim huge tax write-offs on their so-called "renovations."

I was in Macomb Mall recently and it was definitely dead. About half of its store space was removed and there was just about as much foot traffic as there is at Eastland.

[Honky Tonk]

Same thing happened to Eastland in 2006 when the new owners acquired it.

The scam is that these NY investment firms purchase properties that are on a downward projectory of no return, take out loans which only require interest payments initially, then default on the loans when the principal payments are due. The lender of course always insures these loans, so there's no way for them to lose. In the meanwhile, they're able to claim huge tax write-offs on their so-called "renovations."

I was in Macomb Mall recently and it was definitely dead. About half of its store space was removed and there was just aboutfoot traffic there as there Iis at Eastland.

I don't understand how the New Yorkers stay in business with this scam. Surely on the next loan app, they're going to run a credit check on the company. If a history of defaulting shows up, they'd get turned down, no?

[313WX]

I don't understand how the New Yorkers stay in business with this scam. Surely on the next loan app, they're going to run a credit check on the company. If a history of defaulting shows up, they'd get turned down, no?

Probably because the banks are able to foreclose on the properties [[which are likely worth more than the loans themselves) f payments aren't made.

That said, I'm not sure how sustainable this scam is.

[jerrytimes]

Macomb Mall will be next.

You haven't been there in a while, huh?

[Hypestyles]

time to build a new mall within Detroit boundaries. Get African American investors involved. Hire local.

[Bobl]

Regret to say that I stopped going to Eastland twenty years ago, when I saw a group of teenagers, who should have been in school, walking through the mall in a pack, dissing workers in the shops. They were calling the employees chumps, and showing off their gold chains. I was amazed that there was no security there to confront them.
I grew up nearby when Eastland was opened, and it has been sad to see its decline.

[Dan Wesson]

Anyone know who the Ashkenazy are? Not the business. The people.

Hint: change the y to i.

Fascinating history

[xdet]

We could watch Eastland go up from Wilmot and 10 Mile in East Detroit- I left before the name change so it's still ED to me. There was often a 'Sunday Afternoon' stroll around the mall.
Under construction-

The friendly lion with his little 'golden' mouse- pose here kids!

And not to be outdone by the hippo-

And the places for kids to dream about the latest toys-

Before there was Star Wars, there was... at Eastland!

In much happier days for 'outdoor' malls.

[DetroitBoy]

We could watch Eastland go up from Wilmot and 10 Mile in East Detroit- I left before the name change so it's still ED to me. There was often a 'Sunday Afternoon' stroll around the mall.
Under construction-

The friendly lion with his little 'golden' mouse- pose here kids!

And not to be outdone by the hippo-

And the places for kids to dream about the latest toys-

Before there was Star Wars, there was... at Eastland!

In much happier days for 'outdoor' malls.

Thanks for sharing these. What a nice family! Do you remember the ponds with the dark bottoms and the lily pads floating in them? They had beautiful sculptures in the ponds with the brick seating area all around them. Also the plants they had each labeled with the black placards of the species of plants. The big heavy varnished wooden benches in the courtyard were so nice to sit and look at the seasonal flowers. So sad to see the place turned ghetto with stores like Hoodfellas, Family Dollar, Urban Angels Dollar And Up, Jimmy Jazz and U.S. Haircare. Watching the hood rats and shootings and lockdowns of today, it makes you sick to see what a jungle the area has become.

[Onthe405]

Do you remember the ponds with the dark bottoms and the lily pads floating in them? They had beautiful sculptures in the ponds with the brick seating area all around them. Also the plants they had each labeled with the black placards of the species of plants

DBoy . .and who could forget the koi swimming in the fountain ponds? Apologies to others for my duplicate posting from other Eastland threads, but your post specifically references these

The fountains:





The lacquered benches:

[xdet]

Yep, dad never took any 'long view' pictures [[that I've found so far anyway)- cool, onethe405. That's the place that was fun to explore. Enclosing it really ruined the 'feel', in my view, although not living in the area anymore I was only there a couple of times compared to many visits 'in my youth'.

[Onthe405]

Enclosing it really ruined the 'feel', in my view, although not living in the area anymore I was only there a couple of times compared to many visits 'in my youth'.

While I agree, it's also necessary to temper nostalgia with a dose of practicality and business sense. Realistically, Eastland probably couldn't have competed with Macomb, Oakland, and Somerset with the combination of patrons braving the elements and having only one anchor in Hudson's.

That said, the enclosure and subsequently added anchors' designs were inconsistent and architecturally bland & slapdash [[including the complete removal of the fountains & other artwork . .why?), which detracted from the original design, rather than enhance it. This didn't have to be the case, as Gruen's Edina, MN Southdale illustrates.

Ironically, Gruen's original "shopping center" concept was to create a centralized , aesthetically pleasing & park-like community space in the suburbs to counter what he viewed as the ugliness of gaudy, neon-signed strip shopping centers proliferating like weeds along main arteries.

With the continued demise of malls & shopping centers over the last 20 years and rise of "big box" drive-ups, it appears he lost the ideological battle. Take a look at eyesores like Hall Rd, which, apparently, is the preference of the suburban American consumer.

[DetroitBoy]

DBoy . .and who could forget the koi swimming in the fountain ponds? Apologies to others for my duplicate posting from other Eastland threads, but your post specifically references these

The fountains:





The lacquered benches:

These are are such cool pics. Thank you for posting. I saw some of your other pics on Northland. I will repost what I found out about the malls of this era:

I found some very interesting information about the history of Northland and several of the malls that were built during the Cold War era. Designed by Victor Greun, many of the malls of that era were built outside of an 8 mile radius of a city center in the event of a nuclear attack. As it turns out, 8 miles was the blast range for nuclear bombs of that era. Greun designed several malls across the country based on the same concept of a open area in the center with two anchor stores in a multi-level structure where the lower level could be used as a fall out shelter in the event of a nuclear attack. Northland's design is around this concept. The lower level has multiple fall out shelters which at one time included supplies. The concept also was built around the area being a self contained city with housing, shopping, churches and hospitals all adjacent to the mall in order to facilitate the continuation of cities in the event of an attack which destroyed the central downtown. Green also designed Southdale in Minneapolis with this concept. The links below give more details on the concept of the malls of that area and photos of the Northland fall out shelter.

So I guess Northland, Eastland and Westland all have significance in the area's Cold War history:

http://curbed.com/archives/2014/06/1...ican-malls.php

http://www.michigancivildefense.com/...outhfield.html