History
Michigan's first enclosed shopping center, Pontiac Mall was built at the northwest corner of Telegraph Road (U.S. Route 24 in Michigan, US 24) and Elizabeth Lake Road, on the boundary between the city of Pontiac, Michigan, Pontiac and Waterford Township, Michigan, Waterford Township. Two tenants opened ahead of the mall: a Kroger supermarket began operation in 1961, and a Montgomery Ward department store in February 1962. Opening on Thursday, May 10, 1962, the mall featured one other major department store: a "budget" branch of Detroit-based Hudson's, which unlike the existing Hudson's stores, did not feature furniture or small appliances. It was later upgraded to a full-line Hudson's store. Among the mall's 42 inline tenants on opening day were a Cunningham Drug (U.S.), Cunningham Drug pharmacy and a S. S. Kresge Corporation, Kresge dime store. It occupied of store area overall. The mall was built by A&W Management (later known as Ramco-Gershenson and now known as RPT Realty) and its architect was A. Arnold Agree, son of Detroit architect Charles N. Agree. The mall concourses featured over 120 sculptures. Sears built a store north of the property in 1972, although this store was not part of the mall at the time. In 1972, an elephant named Little Jenny, who starred in the movie ''Elephant Walk'', was buried on the mall site. Ramco-Gershenson announced renovation plans on the mall in 1983. According to then-company treasurer Dennis Gershenson, the mall had "fallen behind current shopping center design" and had lost many key tenants such as the Cunningham Drug store due to chains going out of business. The $1,000,000 renovation included new store facades, floors, and ceilings, plus renovated designs for Hudson's and Montgomery Ward. Foot Locker and Kinney Shoes were relocated to new storefronts, while new tenants such as Musicland, Circus World (store), Circus World, The Limited, Casual Corner, Sibley's Shoes, Gap (clothing retailer), Gap, and B. Dalton were added. Following the renovations, the mall was renamed Summit Place Mall. J. C. Penney opened at the mall in August 1988, replacing a store in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan, Bloomfield Township. This was part of an expansion first announced in 1987, which added of retail space, along with a Service Merchandise catalog showroom, a MainStreet (department store), MainStreet department store (bought out by Kohl's soon after opening), and a connection to the existing Sears. Also included in the new construction was a food court called Picnic Place.Late 1990s-early 2000s: Decline
Service Merchandise and Montgomery Ward closed in 1999 and 2001, respectively, as both chains declared bankruptcy. Also in 2000, Hudson's was remodeled, before being renamed Marshall Field's a year later. After the loss of these two anchors, Summit Place Mall began losing inline tenants, primarily to Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, which opened in nearby Auburn Hills, Michigan in 1998. General Growth Properties sold Summit Place Mall in 2002 to California-based Namco Financial. Namco announced plans to change the name of the mall to Festivals of Waterford, and add a family entertainment center as well as a $700,000 kid's play area and a waterpark, the latter of which would be located in the former Montgomery Ward. That December, the children's play area opened, although the waterpark plans were canceled after the city decided not to risk the $20 million indoor waterpark, fearing that the income could not repay the debt.Mid-late 2000-early 2010s
State legislative action in 2005 resulted in a law that would allow the owners of Summit Place to receive a tax abatement for redevelopment of the site. The proposed redevelopment called for demolition of half of the mall, and the rezoning of much of the property to include housing. Marshall Field's was renamed Macy's in September 2006 after Marshall Field's parent company May Co. was purchased by Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.). In August 2007, Waterford Township explored the creation of a "Corridor Improvement Authority," or CIA, to look into future uses for the property. The mall continued to lose tenants throughout the mid-2000s, including all tenants in the food court and the children's playplace. Kohl's closed on March 12, 2009. Following the closure of this anchor, the mall became 96% vacant. The entire mall closed, except for the three remaining anchors, on September 10, 2009. Both J.C. Penney and Macy's closed in March, 2010, following closure announcements in January. Sears, the last tenant of the mall, announced its closure in September, 2014. The store closed December 7, 2014 leaving the entire mega-shopping hub vacant and thus it has become a magnet for vandals, vagrants and scrappers. Waterford Township has placed the mall on its dangerous buildings list and has called for owners to either fix up the mall or tear it down. Demolition on the mall finally began in May, 2019. Summit Place Mall is now Oakland County Business Center.See also
*List of shopping malls in MichiganReferences
{{Waterford Township, Michigan Shopping malls established in 1962 Shopping malls disestablished in 2009 Demolished shopping malls in the United States Unused buildings in Michigan Shopping malls in Oakland County, Michigan Buildings and structures in Pontiac, Michigan 2014 disestablishments in Michigan Defunct shopping malls in the United States 1962 establishments in Michigan