Drawing from Taubman Centers, Incorporated
Showing posts with label Detroit's Fairlane Town Center (1976). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit's Fairlane Town Center (1976). Show all posts
Detroit's Fairlane Town Center
Greater Detroit's 18th mall was named after Fairlane, a planned city built by the Ford Motor Company. This development was named after Fair Lane, the palatial home of Clara and Henry Ford. A grand opening was held for FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER in March 1976. Another Taubman property, LAKESIDE MALL {in Sterling Heights, Michigan} was dedicated on the same day.
Photo from https://www.reddit.com / "AxlCobainVedder"
Drawing from the Ford Motor Land Development Corporation
Graphic from the Hyatt Corporation
Similar (but not identical) transit systems of the day included the .7 mile, light rail transit Tandy Subway, in Fort Worth (1963), and .3 mile monorail, at Honolulu's PEARLRIDGE CENTER (1975). The Fairlane ACTS was dismantled in 1989.
Photo from Ford Land Development
Similar (but not identical) transit systems of the day included the .7 mile, light rail transit Tandy Subway, in Fort Worth (1963), and .3 mile monorail, at Honolulu's PEARLRIDGE CENTER (1975). The Fairlane ACTS was dismantled in 1989.
Photo from Ford Land Development
I.C. Penguin, mascot of the Fairlane Ice Arena, beckons one and all to visit the mall's indoor skating rink.
Graphic from Taubman Centers, Incorporated
Our first FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER site plan dates to 1976. The shiny new mall, with approximately 1,279,000 leasable square feet, has three anchors and 185 inline stores. The guideway of its "Automatically-Controlled Transit System" (ACTS) is indicated in dark gray.
The mall's original 5-plex movie house was expanded into a 10-screen venue in 1982. This was razed in 1999 and replaced by the Star Fairlane megaplex, which opened in May of the year 2000. In later years, the venue was operated by Lowes Cineplex and -then- AMC. It closed for good in November 2022.
Photo from "GlobetrotterUS"
The TOWNE CENTER Lifestyle Cafe Food Court was retrofitted into existing mall space in 1999.
Photo from Wikipedia / Anne B Hood
Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off Fifth operated at the mall for a total of 27 years. After their demise, the building was demolished and replaced by The Plaza.
Photo from http:/www.clarkc.com / Clark Construction Company
The Plaza consisted of two sit down restaurants; P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Bravo! Cucina Italiana. These opened for business in November 2008.
Photo from http:/www.clarkc.com / Clark Construction Company
FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER TENANTS 2009:
J.C. PENNEY (with Styling Salon, Optical Center, Watch & Jewelry Repair and Portrait Studio) / MACY'S (with Olan Mills Portrait Studio, Ticketmaster, Macy's Hair Salon and Macy's Marketplace Deli) / SEARS (with Optical Center, Hearing Aid Center, Dental Center, Photo Studio, Watch Repair and attached Auto Center) / 4 Men apparel / Aeropostale apparel / Aldo Shoes / AMC Star Theatre / American Eagle Outfitters / Andiamo men's wear / Ashley Stewart Woman / A T & T / Bachelors men's wear / Bakers shoes / Bally Total Fitness / Bath & Body Works cosmetics / Body Arts (kiosk) / C'est La Vie apparel / Cache ladies' wear / Candy Bouquet / Carnival Cuts / Cecil B. apparel / Cellular Accessories I (kiosk) / Cellular Accessories II (kiosk) / Champs Sports / Charlotte Russe ladies' wear / China Town restaurant / Cinnabon / City Girls ladies' wear / City Man men's wear / C J S snack bar & newstand / Claire's accessories / Coach accessories / Dairy Queen - Orange Julius / Designer Shoes / Diesel / Donna Sacs apparel / DSW - Designer Shoe Warehouse / E B Games / Easy Spirit / EnVus Couture ladies' wear / Epiphany Clothier / Europerfumes (kiosk) / Express ladies' wear - Express Men / Fine Touch Tailoring / Finish Line / Firestone Tire & Auto (outparcel) / Foot Locker / FootAction USA / Forever 21 young ladies' wear / Frederick's of Hollywood / Fuddruckers restaurant / Fudds Express restaurant / G by GUESS apparel & accessories / GameStop / GNC / Go Wireless (kiosk) / Godiva Chocolatier / Golden Fantasy jewelry / Gymboree children's wear / H & M apparel / Hallmark / Hats -N- Stitches (kiosk) / Heritage 1981 apparel / Hollister Company apparel / Hot Topic apparel / Hutch's Jewelry / Hyatt Regency Dearborn hotel (outparcel) / Intrinsic Collections ladies' wear / Jazzy Jewelers / Jimmy Jazz apparel / Johnston & Murphy / Journeys shoes / Justice children's wear / Kay Jewelers / Kids Foot Locker / Lady Foot Locker / Le Nails / Leather Villa / Lee Beauty Supply / LensCrafters / Lids Ultimate Headgear / Limited Too children's wear / M J Diamonds / M W Tux / M.A.C. Cosmetics / McDonald's hamburgers / Man Alive men's wear / Manic Shoes / MAQ Custom Engraving / Maxx Rave young ladies' wear / Michael Milano / Mrs. Fields Original Cookie Company / Mobile 1 / Motherhood Maternity / New York & Company ladies' wear / New Yorker Kid / Next Leather / PacSun apparel / Paris Bleu Parfums / PayLess ShoeSource / Perfumania / Premier Salon / President Tuxedo / Pretty Girl jewelry & accessories (kiosk) / Pretzel Time / Pure Energy apparel / Radio Shack / Rainbow ladies' wear / Rockport shoes / Rogers & Hollands Jewelers / Silvermart (kiosk) / Solstice Sunglass Boutique / Sprint / Starters Bar & Grill / Stride-Rite shoes / Sunglass Hut International / T-Mobile / The Belt Man leather accessories (kiosk) / The Body Shop cosmetics / The Broadway & City Slicker Shoes / The Children's Place children's wear / The Icing by Claire's / The Mobile Solution (kiosk) / Things Remembered / Ti Spa / Underground Station apparel & accessories / Urban Behavior ladies' wear / Verizon Wireless / Victoria's Secret lingeries - Victoria's Secret Beauty / Vitamin World / Waldenbooks / Wet Seal ladies' wear / Yankee Candle Company / Zales Jewelers
LIFESTYLE CAFE FOOD COURT:
Auntie Anne's Pretzels / Bourbon Street Grille / Kerby's Koney Island / Kyoto Kyoto Japanese Cuisine / Master Wok Chinese Cuisine / Sbarro the Italian Eatery / Shawarma Express / Subway / Taco Bell / The Great Steak & Potato Company
THE PLAZA:
Bravo! Cucina Italiana / P.F. Chaing's China Bistro
Lord & Taylor was in operation at FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER for over 28 years. The store was vacated in August 2006 and sat vacant for 10 years. The Ford Motor Company acquired the building and twenty six adjacent retail spaces and reconfigured the space as the Town Center Office complex.
Photo from www.loopnet.com
FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER
Michigan Avenue / US 12 and Evergreen Road
Dearborn, Michigan
One of America's most futuristic Mid-20th Century shopping malls was built on a 275-acre plot. This was located 12.3 miles west of center city Detroit, in suburban Dearborn. FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER was a joint venture of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Taubman Centers and the Dearborn-based Ford Motor Land Development Company. The mall was the centerpiece of Ford's master-planned, 2,360 acre, Fairlane community.
Like Chicago's WOODFIELD MALL and San Jose's EASTRIDGE CENTER (two other Taubman properties), FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER consisted of two retail levels, with a smaller third floor sandwiched between the two at the center of the center.
A mall-wide grand opening was held on March 2, 1976. Dedicated on this day were a 2-level (244,000 square foot) Sears and 2-level (200,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. Over fifty inline stores also opened for business. These included Schneider's Sports Shops, Bernard's ladies' wear and Hughes & Hatcher men's wear.
Michigan Avenue / US 12 and Evergreen Road
Dearborn, Michigan
One of America's most futuristic Mid-20th Century shopping malls was built on a 275-acre plot. This was located 12.3 miles west of center city Detroit, in suburban Dearborn. FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER was a joint venture of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Taubman Centers and the Dearborn-based Ford Motor Land Development Company. The mall was the centerpiece of Ford's master-planned, 2,360 acre, Fairlane community.
Like Chicago's WOODFIELD MALL and San Jose's EASTRIDGE CENTER (two other Taubman properties), FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER consisted of two retail levels, with a smaller third floor sandwiched between the two at the center of the center.
A mall-wide grand opening was held on March 2, 1976. Dedicated on this day were a 2-level (244,000 square foot) Sears and 2-level (200,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. Over fifty inline stores also opened for business. These included Schneider's Sports Shops, Bernard's ladies' wear and Hughes & Hatcher men's wear.
Shopping courts and concourses were decorated by several works of art. "Encounter", by Milwaukee's Richard Lippold, graced the mall's Grand Court. Other sculptures were created by David Barr (of Detroit), Armand Arman (of Paris and New York City) and Chris Byers (of Colorado).
The Fairlane Ice Arena, an indoor skating rink, opened on March 3, 1976. On the level above was the United Artists The Movies At Fairlane multiplex. This 5-screen venue showed first features on March 31, 1976. A 3-level (240,000 square foot) Detroit-based Hudson's opened its doors on July 19, 1976. At this time, the shopping hub encompassed approximately 1,279,000 square feet. There were eventually 185 stores and services.
Commercial competitors of FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER included NORTHLAND CENTER (1954) {8.7 miles northeast, in Southfield}, WONDERLAND CENTER (1959) {6.5 miles northwest, in Livonia}, WESTLAND CENTER (1965) {8.4 miles northwest, in Westland}, and SOUTHLAND CENTER (1970) {7.8 miles southwest, in Taylor}.
The most noteworthy feature of the 1970s FAIRLANE mall was its ACTS, or Automatically-Controlled Transportation System. Originally proposed as a double-tracked, 2 mile loop, the people mover was to link the Ford World Headquarters, an office complex, FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER and a new Hyatt hotel.
The system put into service in March 1976 had been scaled down to operate over a half-mile of track. Its elevated guideway connected Level 2 of the mall with the adjoining Hyatt Regency Dearborn. Serving as Ford's experiment in personal rapid transit technology, the ACTS was dismantled and removed from the premises in 1989.
In the meantime, FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER had been expanded. A 2-level (122,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor opened, in conjunction with a new store at Greater Detroit's TWELVE OAKS MALL, on March 6, 1978. A 2-level (90,000 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue debuted on February 22, 1980. The five-anchor shopping hub now encompassed approximately 1,491,000 leasable square feet.
Changes were made to the existing cinema complex. In 1982, the Fairlane Ice Arena was retrofitted as five additional cinematic auditoriums, for a total of ten. The ten-plex closed for good on June 5, 1997. This structure was razed and replaced by the Jack Loeks-Lowes Cineplex Star Fairlane Theatre, which made its debut on May 18, 2000. The venue was acquired -and rebranded- by the AMC chain in 2005. It was shuttered on November 13, 2022.
Meanwhile, anchor store rebrandings began in November 1997, when Saks Fifth Avenue was demoted to a 1-level (30,000 square foot) Saks Off Fifth clearance store. Hudson's was rebranded, as a Chicago-based Marshall Field's, in August 2001. The store morphed into a Macy's on September 9, 2006. Lord & Taylor had pulled up stakes in August 2005. Saks Off Fifth was shuttered on December 31, 2007.
The most noteworthy feature of the 1970s FAIRLANE mall was its ACTS, or Automatically-Controlled Transportation System. Originally proposed as a double-tracked, 2 mile loop, the people mover was to link the Ford World Headquarters, an office complex, FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER and a new Hyatt hotel.
The system put into service in March 1976 had been scaled down to operate over a half-mile of track. Its elevated guideway connected Level 2 of the mall with the adjoining Hyatt Regency Dearborn. Serving as Ford's experiment in personal rapid transit technology, the ACTS was dismantled and removed from the premises in 1989.
In the meantime, FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER had been expanded. A 2-level (122,000 square foot) Lord & Taylor opened, in conjunction with a new store at Greater Detroit's TWELVE OAKS MALL, on March 6, 1978. A 2-level (90,000 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue debuted on February 22, 1980. The five-anchor shopping hub now encompassed approximately 1,491,000 leasable square feet.
Changes were made to the existing cinema complex. In 1982, the Fairlane Ice Arena was retrofitted as five additional cinematic auditoriums, for a total of ten. The ten-plex closed for good on June 5, 1997. This structure was razed and replaced by the Jack Loeks-Lowes Cineplex Star Fairlane Theatre, which made its debut on May 18, 2000. The venue was acquired -and rebranded- by the AMC chain in 2005. It was shuttered on November 13, 2022.
Meanwhile, anchor store rebrandings began in November 1997, when Saks Fifth Avenue was demoted to a 1-level (30,000 square foot) Saks Off Fifth clearance store. Hudson's was rebranded, as a Chicago-based Marshall Field's, in August 2001. The store morphed into a Macy's on September 9, 2006. Lord & Taylor had pulled up stakes in August 2005. Saks Off Fifth was shuttered on December 31, 2007.
The Saks building was demolished soon after. The Plaza, a collection of two sit-down restaurants, was built. P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Bravo! Cucina Italiana served first meals on November 18, 2008. The adjusted gross leasable area of FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER was now 1,426,000 leasable square feet, with 158 stores and services.
In June 2014, Taubman Centers sold FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER to Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of Greenwich, Connecticut's Starwood Capital Group. The transaction included seven shopping malls; these located in Michigan, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
After sitting vacant for 10 years, the Lord & Taylor building was repurposed. The Ford Motor Company leased it and an additional 118,000 square feet of inline store space. This area was reconfigured as the Town Center Office complex. The 240,000 square foot facility opened in April 2017. At the same time, Sears shuttered four Michigan stores. The FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER location, which had anchored the mall for 42 years, went dark on September 2, 2018.
Sources:
The Detroit Free Press
In June 2014, Taubman Centers sold FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER to Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of Greenwich, Connecticut's Starwood Capital Group. The transaction included seven shopping malls; these located in Michigan, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
After sitting vacant for 10 years, the Lord & Taylor building was repurposed. The Ford Motor Company leased it and an additional 118,000 square feet of inline store space. This area was reconfigured as the Town Center Office complex. The 240,000 square foot facility opened in April 2017. At the same time, Sears shuttered four Michigan stores. The FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER location, which had anchored the mall for 42 years, went dark on September 2, 2018.
In 2020, Starwood Retail Partners defaulted on their FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER loan. The mall was eventually acquired by a joint venture of Dallas-based Centennial and Cawley Partners and New York City-based Waterfall Asset Management. The transaction closed on May 4, 2022. The Centennial joint venture soon flipped the mall. It became the property of Great Neck, New York's Kohan Retail Investment Group in April 2023.
Sources:
The Detroit Free Press
http://www.shopfairlane.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://www.taubman.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.shopfairlane.com
http://www.taubman.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.shopfairlane.com
http://www.crainsdetroit.com
https://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest
https://media.ford.com
https://therealdeal.com / New York Real Estate News
https://www.kohanretail.com / Kohan Retail Investment Group
"Fairlane Town Center" article on Wikipedia
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