Giant aquarium planned for Great Lakes Crossing Mall

[Hermod]

I'd bet dollars to donuts that in 20 years GLC is going to be the next Eastland, Northland, you name one of the dozen trash malls we've paved farmland for, and the aquarium will be shuttered or a ValueCity furniture. But enjoy it while it lasts, I guess.

The "Mills" type mega-malls have been pretty successful around the country even though they are a bit of a drive from the population centers. The traditional malls [[anchored by Macy's, Dillard's, Sear's, and Penney's) do fairly well until overtaken by urban blight. Northland and Eastland will probably die, not because they are suburban malls, but because they have become undesirable or a newer, flashier Lakeside is opened within a short drive of them.

[Bham1982]

Northland and Eastland will probably die, not because they are suburban malls, but because they have become undesirable or a newer, flashier Lakeside is opened within a short drive of them.

Northland and Eastland will die becuase the surrounding demographics changed, and the areas are generally undesirable and perceived as unsafe.

There's nothing inherently wrong with suburban malls surrounded by better demographics. Somerset, Twelve Oaks, Village at Rochester Hills and Partridge Creek have few vacancies and are generally extremely successful.

[Detroit Stylin]

Northland and Eastland will die becuase the surrounding demographics changed, and the areas are generally undesirable and perceived as unsafe.

You mean became more Black?

[Bham1982]

You mean became more Black?

To some extent, yes. Unfortunately, when an area becomes more black, most of the time it becomes less desirable. Partly racism, partly middle class blacks fleeing ghetto blacks, partly real crime/dysfunction concerns.

Not always though. West Bloomfield is becoming very black in parts and I don't think is much less desirable. And obviously rednecks and other demographics will have similar negative effects on desirability.

[Patrick]

The "Mills" type mega-malls have been pretty successful around the country even though they are a bit of a drive from the population centers. The traditional malls [[anchored by Macy's, Dillard's, Sear's, and Penney's) do fairly well until overtaken by urban blight. Northland and Eastland will probably die, not because they are suburban malls, but because they have become undesirable or a newer, flashier Lakeside is opened within a short drive of them.

Maybe so, but come on man, Potomac Mills is a white trash mall.

[Hermod]

Maybe so, but come on man, Potomac Mills is a white trash mall.

Ever been there especially around Christmas? It looks pretty diverse to me. Afghans, Asians, Blacks............. I used to live there in 1985-1994.

[Bham1982]

Ever been there especially around Christmas? It looks pretty diverse to me. Afghans, Asians, Blacks............. I used to live there in 1985-1994.

That area is more diverse than the region as a whole but doesn't matter; to the hard-core urbanists, anything sprawly is "white" and anything urban is "diverse", even though in Metro Detroit, this rarely holds true.

If you want to live in a neighborhood of broad ethnic diversity, does it make more sense in Novi, Royal Oak or Detroit? I think Novi is the obvious answer.

[poobert]

That area is more diverse than the region as a whole but doesn't matter; to the hard-core urbanists, anything sprawly is "white" and anything urban is "diverse", even though in Metro Detroit, this rarely holds true.

If you want to live in a neighborhood of broad ethnic diversity, does it make more sense in Novi, Royal Oak or Detroit? I think Novi is the obvious answer.

Your agenda is as predictable as it is uninteresting. And over two thousand posts...

[Honky Tonk]

That area is more diverse than the region as a whole but doesn't matter; to the hard-core urbanists, anything sprawly is "white" and anything urban is "diverse", even though in Metro Detroit, this rarely holds true.

If you want to live in a neighborhood of broad ethnic diversity, does it make more sense in Novi, Royal Oak or Detroit? I think Novi is the obvious answer.

Good post and absolutely correct. I have friends in the "evil 'burbs" and the ethnic mix in the neighborhoods is amazing. People from all countries of the planet live, work, shop, and party in these areas. They're there because not everyone wants to deal with daily existence struggles in Detroit. People who never leave their comfort zone, don't know any better, or just plain refuse to see, will post nonsense, "Frank Rizzo" crap once a month. The year is 2014 not 1950.

[Hermod]

Good post and absolutely correct. I have friends in the "evil 'burbs" and the ethnic mix in the neighborhoods is amazing. People from all countries of the planet live, work, shop, and party in these areas. They're there because not everyone wants to deal with daily existence struggles in Detroit. People who never leave their comfort zone, don't know any better, or just plain refuse to see, will post nonsense, "Frank Rizzo" crap once a month. The year is 2014 not 1950.

If you compare the 2010 census data for Detroit and Troy with the four census groups of non-Hispanic White, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic, Detroit and Troy are about equal if you look at the percentages for primary group, secondary group, tertitary group, and quartenary group. It is just that the primary group in Detroit is black and the secondary group is white. In Troy, the primary group is white and the secondary group is Asian. Mathematically, the two cities have "equal diversity". It is just that the PC crowd define diversity as "non-white".