Lakeside Mall Sustainability Assessment
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
DRAFT LAKESIDE MALL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT September 10, 2015 PREPARED FOR: The City of Sterling Heights 40555 Utica Road LAKESIDE MALL Sterling Heights, Michigan LIST OF OFFICIALS SUSTAINABILITY Mayor Michael C. Taylor Mayor Pro Tem Doug Skrzyniarz Councilwoman Deanna Koski ASSESSMENT Councilman Joseph V. Romano Councilwoman Maria G. Schmidt Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko Councilman Nate Shannon PARTICIPATING STAFF Mark D. Vanderpool, City Manager Denice Gerstenberg, City Development Director Don Mende, City Planner Luke Bonner, Senior Economic Development Advisor PREPARED BY: Wade Trim Associates, Inc. 500 Griswold Avenue, Suite 2500 Detroit, Michigan 48226 IN ASSOCIATION WITH: ArchiveDS 615 Griswold Avenue, Suite 1710 Detroit, Michigan 48226 September 10, 2015 Project Number: STL 6000-01D-800 ii LAKESIDE MALL 1. Introduction ........................................... 1 SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT 2. National Trends ........................................ 3 TABLE OF 3. Design Precedent ...................................... 5 4. Guiding Principles ...................................... 7 CONTENTS 5. Concept Redevelopment Plans ......................... 9 6. Site Features ..........................................13 iii Lakeside Mall is a regional, full-line enclosed shopping mall The City of Sterling Heights is concerned about the long-term located in suburban Detroit, Michigan within the City of success of Lakeside Mall for several reasons. Sterling Heights. The mall is located along M-59 (Hall Road), • Nationally, many shopping malls are closing or are on the one of the region’s major travel corridors, between Hayes and brink of failure. A recent local example of this trend is the Schoenherr roads. It also has convenient access to I-94, which closing of Northland Mall in Southfield, Michigan. allows the mall to draw customers from a broad regional • The continued viability of Sears, one of the mall’s anchors, is market base. repeatedly being questioned by business media. • Lakeside Mall is facing increased competition from new or The mall contains two floors, and has a total retail floor area of planned shopping centers located nearby. This includes The 1,505,504 sf. supported by 7,745 on-site parking spaces. The Mall at Partridge Creek; an approximately 625,000 sf. open mall features more than 150 stores, as well as a food court. It is air shopping center anchored by Nordstrom and a recently Upper Level anchored by JCPenny, Sears, Lord & Taylor, and Macy’s. announced “bargain center” proposed to be built near the M-59/I-94 interchange. Lakeside Mall opened in 1976 and was developed by A. Alfred • Customer preferences are changing. There is an emerging Taubman and Rodamco. It is currently owned by General preference for street-front shopping and to experience Growth Properties. The mall was expanded in 1999. In 2007, “place.” plans were announced for a $3 million renovation to the mall. Improvements included new signage and improved pedes- In response to these challenges, the City of Sterling Heights re- trian access to the mall. tained the services of Wade Trim Associates, Inc., in association with ArchiveDS, to examine land use options for the property culminating in the preparation of a Concept Redevelopment Plan(s) designed to better meet the long-term needs of the City and its owner. Lower Level Legend LAKESIDE MALL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Google Earth 2 In response to competitive as well as community changes, the 4. Mall Plus. In this model, the owner may decide to reposition • Opportunity to create long–term value. The mixed–use action in the shopping center has shifted from the construction the mall with the addition of entertainment, offices, a hotel, character will have a higher likelihood of appreciating in of new malls to the rehabilitation, repositioning, and intensifi- or residences. Most of the existing mall structure would be the long-term as activities from different uses reinforce cation of uses at existing mall sites around the country. 1 retained and could allow for design improvements such as one another and rents reflect higher pedestrian traffic and open spaces and pedestrian connections between uses. improved pedestrian amenities. The Congress for the New Urbanism in cooperation with the 5. Reinvested Mall. The owner may change the tenant mix • Possibility of creating higher short-term value. Portions of United States Environmental Protection Agency has identified and renovate the building in an attempt to draw customers the site can be sold to third-party developers at a higher the five most common mall redevelopment models.2 back. La Gran Plaza Mall in Fort Worth, Texas is an example price than if the entire site had been sold for land value only. 1. Mixed–Use Town Center or Urban District. This model of this model. features a mix of uses, including retail space, residential units, public spaces, and often office space and civic or Transforming Lakeside Mall into a mixed–use town center 1. Beyard, Michael D., Mary Beth Corrigan, Anta Kramer, Michael Pawlukiewicz, and Alexa Bach. Ten Principles for Rethinking the Mall. Washington, D.C.: ULI – the Urban Land Institute, cultural uses. An example of this transformation is Belmar in or urban district was the preferred approach, since it offers 2006, page vi. 2. A full description of these models can be found in Malls Into Mainstreets: An In-depth Guide Lakewood, Colorado. several advantages. 3 to Transforming Dead Malls Into Communities. Congress for the New Urbanism, 2005, pages 10-12. 2. Single–Use Development. This model demolishes the mall • Ability to spread the market risk. The entire project does 3. Ibid., page 13. structure and replaces it with big–box retail or another not hinge on the market demand for only one use. single use, such as an office park or district, a development • Public assistance. The host community is more likely of garden apartments or condominiums, an entertainment to approve a redevelopment project and/or provide complex, or civic facilities. infrastructure or contribute some other form of financial 3. Adaptive Reuse. This model retains the mall structure and assistance. As may be remembered, the City of Sterling adapts it, typically for a single use. The original mall structure Heights previously established a Special Assessment may be converted into a customer–service call center, District to facilitate improvements for landscaping and curb church, or educational institution. work. LAKESIDE MALL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT 2 NATIONAL TRENDS 3 4 City consultants investigated four vibrant communities in • Density is important. Residents, workers and visitors metropolitan Detroit that are small in scale and also enjoy a provide a population base within close proximity to mixed–use character to discover common design character- a central business district, which caters to consumer istics, which contribute to their placemaking success. These demands for a unique shopping experience through social communities were: the City of Plymouth (2.2 square miles); interaction, street activity and streetscape amenities. City of Northville (2.07 square miles); City of Farmington (2.66 • Approach routes and surface arteries are often organic in square miles); and the City of Royal Oak (11.79 square miles). style and lead to community focal points such as urban squares and open spaces. A review of aerial photographs of each community and site • Walkability is important. A hierarchy of pedestrian linkages investigations revealed several important design characteris- such as paths, sidewalks, or trails, is evident. Street widths tics shared by each community. allow for safe pedestrian crossings. • The prominent features of the land (natural elements or • Parking needs are addressed through on-street parking, man-made features) are the primary determinants of the surface parking, and parking structures or via shared City’s form. parking. Large expanses of off-street parking lots are • A mixed–use development pattern exists (commercial, minimized. residential, institutional, governmental, cultural, etc.) • The public realm is comfortable – clean and safe. • The quality of each place is based on the tenants of human scale and perception; that is, buildings and their components are related harmoniously to one another and to human beings. People have an ability to comprehend their surroundings and feel a sense of intimacy to “place” where buildings are: connected to the street; one, two or three stories in height; or where physical forms are assembled to create a continuous “street wall.” LAKESIDE MALL SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT 3 DESIGN PRECEDENT 5 Northville, MI Google Earth Plymouth, MI Google Earth Royal Oak, MI Google Earth Farmington, MI Google Earth CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS 6 The following principles were developed as design metrics to 4. Consolidation and redistribution of customer parking. be achieved in order to transform Lakeside Mall into a mixed- Sites should be designed such that vehicles are not the use town center or urban district. dominant feature. Large expanses of pavement should 1. Walkability and enhancing the streetscape experience. be replaced or reduced via on-street parking, parking This design principle includes providing the physical structures, shared parking, and other parking management infrastructure to support pedestrian access and a mix strategies. of amenities and destinations (places to go) within a 5. Contextual design. Existing commercial and residential reasonable walking distance.