HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Northland Center was a
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that ...
on an approximately site located near the intersection of
M-10 M10, M-10 or M 10 may refer to: Science and technology * Messier 10, a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus * M10, a Garmin Nüvifone smartphone * Samsung Galaxy M10, a smartphone * M10 (rocket engine), a rocket engine Transportation ...
(the John C. Lodge Freeway) and Greenfield Road in
Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...
, an inner-ring
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...
of
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Construction began in 1952 and the mall opened on March 22, 1954. Northland was a milestone for regional shopping centers in the United States. Designed by
Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012
(July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...
, the mall initially included a four-level
Hudson's The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest ...
with a ring of stores surrounding it. As originally built, it was an open air
pedestrian mall Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
with arrayed structures. The mall was enclosed in 1975 and expanded several times in its history. Additions included five other department store anchors:
J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...
in 1975, MainStreet in 1985 (sold to
Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...
three years later), and
TJ Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...
,
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
, and
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curr ...
in the 1990s. Managed by Spinoso Real Estate Group, Northland Center featured approximately 100 stores.
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
, the last anchor, closed on March 22, 2015, exactly 61 years to the date of the mall's opening.''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...
'', "Macy’s, last anchor at Northland, to close", JC Reindl and Georgea Kovanis, January 9, 2015, page A1


History


Early years

The J. L. Hudson Company, a Detroit-based
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...
chain, built Northland Center. Hudson's—at its Downtown Detroit location on
Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...
—grew to become the second largest department store (next to
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) in the United States. In 1948, architect
Victor Gruen Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012
(July 18, 1903 – February 1 ...
convinced Hudson's, then reluctant to build branch stores, to take advantage of suburban growth by constructing a ring of four shopping centers surrounding the city of Detroit. Of the four – Eastland Center, Southland Center, and
Westland Center Westland Shopping Center, also known as Westland Center, is an enclosed shopping mall located in the city of Westland, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The mall features more than 100 inline stores, with JCPenney and Kohl's serving as anchor stores. ...
were the others – Northland was the first to be built. These malls encircle Detroit's inner-ring of suburbs. At the time, Northland Center was the world's largest shopping center. Northland Center became the first major postwar development in suburban Detroit and was the first of many forays into the suburbs by Hudson's. Some $30,000,000 was invested in constructing the facility. The first-year gross for the Northland Hudson's was $88 million. The shopping center opened to much fanfare. Articles about the center appeared in national media outlets such as ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'', '' Look'', ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...
'', ''
Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In ...
'' and ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
''. Reviewers had heralded the Northland as the future of shopping in post-war America. Besides Hudson's, Northland opened with a number of other local retailers including: Hughes & Hatcher, Max Green's, Kosins, The Wild Pair, Barna-Bee Children's Shops, Cunningham Drug, Baker's Shoes, Chandler's Shoes, Big Boy restaurant, Himelhoch's, Winkelman's, Albert's, S.S. Kresge Corporation, Robinson Furniture, Raimi's Curtains, Better Made Potato Chips,
Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...
, Barricini Candies, and Sanders Confectionery. Northland featured auditoriums, The Northland Playhouse, The Northland Theater, a bank, post office, infirmary, sculptures by
Marshall Fredericks Marshall Maynard Fredericks (January 31, 1908 – April 4, 1998) was an American sculptor known for such works as '' Fountain of Eternal Life'', ''The Spirit of Detroit'', ''Man and the Expanding Universe Fountain'', and many others. Early life ...
, fountains, an office for lost children, lavish landscaping, and free gasoline for customers who had run out. Gruen would later grow disenchanted with the malls he helped start with Northland. The architect, who also designed suburban Detroit's three other "directional" malls ( Eastland Center,
Westland Center Westland Shopping Center, also known as Westland Center, is an enclosed shopping mall located in the city of Westland, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The mall features more than 100 inline stores, with JCPenney and Kohl's serving as anchor stores. ...
, and Southland Center), Chicago's Randhurst, and South Jersey's
Cherry Hill Mall The Cherry Hill Mall, owned by Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), was originally known as Cherry Hill Shopping Center, commonly reported as the first indoor, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi River in the ...
, pronounced himself disillusioned with the ugliness and fast-buck approach of many projects. "I refuse to pay alimony for those bastard developments", he told ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' magazine.


Expansion

Northland Center was enclosed as a mall in 1975,http://www.secinfo.com/dRe2b.b1r.htm#rwb SEC Info – Midwest Real Estate Shopping Center LP – Def 14A – For 6/28/94 the same year that
J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...
was added.
Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shillito ...
short-lived MainStreet chain opened in 1985 and was later acquired by and rechristened
Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...
in March 1989.
T.J. Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...
and a
food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. ...
were added in 1991, while
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curr ...
opened in November 1994.
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
opened in April 1996.


Loss of anchors and closure

Construction of other malls in the metro area presented remodeling challenges and redevelopment opportunities for the metro area's inner-ring suburban malls including Northland. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Northland had a turnover of major tenants. Kohl's closed its operations in 1995 at the mall, along with a sister store at Eastland Center.
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
built its store on the building's west end and opened in 1996. Montgomery Ward shuttered due to the chain's financial troubles in 1998; JCPenney and T.J. Maxx closed in 2000 and 2004, respectively.
National Wholesale Liquidators National Wholesale Liquidators is a Brooklyn, New York-based company that operates warehouse-style closeout discount stores. It offers a mix of brand-name items, everyday household items, and furniture. National Wholesale Liquidators carries ov ...
opened in 2005 in Wards' former building, and closed three years later. In 2007,
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
completed a renovation of its interior and exterior, as well as an expansion to accommodate a
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
,
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
, and
Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...
, but in November 2014, Target announced the closing of its store. The store closed in February 2015 as part of closing 11 stores nationwide. Macy's also announced that it was closing operations at Northland Center as well, with the store closing on March 22, 2015, 61 years to the day the store opened as
Hudson's The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest ...
in 1954. With just a handful of inline stores left, Northland Center officially closed on April 15, 2015.


Financial trouble and resulting closure

Northland Center was sold on December 18, 2008, to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, with Jones Lang LaSalle (which also owns Eastland Center in Harper Woods). Ashkenazy Acquisition defaulted on a $31 million payment in the summer of 2014, and Spinoso Real Estate Group was named receiver. In February 2015, following the closure of the anchor stores, a local judge announced that the mall would be closing as of March 2015. Around this time, the mall's official website closed. On October 7, 2015, the city of Southfield purchased the property for $2.5 million with plans to demolish most of the property. The only remnants of the original property that would be spared are the maintenance garage, the network of tunnels underneath the mall, the water tower and the building that formerly housed Hudson's/Marshall Field's/Macy's.


Redevelopment opportunities and Northland City Center

On October 26, 2017, two-and-a-half years after the mall's shuttering, demolition began on Northland Center, with the former Target store being the first section to be levelled, followed by the former Firestone tire center. The city of Southfield submitted a proposal to
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
for its search to establish a second headquarters, pitching the former 125-acre Northland Center site; ultimately, the former Michigan State Fairgrounds site in Detroit was chosen. In July 2021, the city of Southfield sold Northland Center to Contour Companies for $11 million.


Demographic and consumer changes

A common complaint and belief was that Northland's decline and demise was in part to the change in consumer base and changing demographics in Metro Detroit. During Northland's early years, there was a larger consumer base and less competition from rival malls. Competition from newer malls like
Somerset Collection Somerset Collection is a superregional, luxury shopping mall, located in Metro Detroit, in Troy, Michigan with more than 180 specialty stores. Somerset Collection, developed, managed, and co-owned by The Forbes Company, is among the most prof ...
,
Fairlane Town Center Fairlane Town Center is a super-regional shopping mall in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan. The mall is adjacent to The Henry Hotel, The Fairlane Club, the University of Michigan–Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College, The Henry Ford, a ...
,
Oakland Mall Oakland Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall located in the city of Troy, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It is located in the northwest corner of the intersection of 14 Mile and John R. roads, adjacent to Interstate 75 (Chrysler Freeway ...
, Twelve Oaks Mall contributed to the migration from Northland. Northland failed to compete and change with the changing needs and expectations of consumers and was slowly replaced by more upscale shopping alternatives. In its later years, there were a few violent crimes and shoplifting was rampant, which further contributed to its decline.


Transportation

The mall was located next to John C. Lodge Freeway with exits at Eight Mile Road and West Nine Mile Road. Northland Transit Center, a terminal shared between SMART and DDOT, was located on the south side of the mall. Due to the mall's closure, the transit center ceased operations on September 3, 2017, forcing DDOT and SMART to relocate the twelve bus routes that travelled through the center.


See also

*
List of shopping malls in Michigan The history of shopping malls in Michigan began in 1954. That year, the Hudson's department store chain and architect Victor Gruen developed Northland Center in the Detroit suburb of Southfield. It was followed by three other directional malls ...


References


External links


Northland Center homepage from December 30, 2014
article from
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primar ...
on Northland's 50th anniversary in 2004
Shopping Mall HistoryFact sheet for NorthlandLIFE Magazine Aug. 30, 1954
{{Shopping malls in Michigan Shopping malls established in 1954 Shopping malls disestablished in 2015 Shopping malls in Oakland County, Michigan Southfield, Michigan 1954 establishments in Michigan 2015 disestablishments in Michigan Demolished shopping malls in the United States Victor Gruen buildings