Memories of Lakeside Mall – 1975
By Melanie Davis
The idea of Lakeside Mall was formed when real estate developers Al Taubman and Graham Orley spoke at one of their son’s college football games. Taubman was interested in building a mall in northeast metro Detroit, and the two both had land in Sterling Heights. The original site was meant to be south of Hall, between Ryan and Mound, but was moved to between Schoenherr and Hayes to promote traffic along the freeway and serve as a “four corner community” among Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, Macomb Township and Clinton Township. As luck would have it, the estimate for Taubman’s and Orley’s final location was exactly within the 11-mile zoning regulation to Oakland and Macomb malls.
Lakeside took its name from the man-made lakes around the mall created as storm basins. When it first opened in the fall of 1975, anchor stores included Sears, JCPenney, Hudson’s and Crowley’s, and Lord & Taylor joined in 1978. Developers who couldn’t afford to put their businesses inside began placing them around the area, like the Toys R Us that opened on Lakeside Circle in 1983.
Taubman wanted Lakeside Mall to be cutting edge, and in November 1975 he cut the ribbon on the Lakeside Ice Arena, the first mall ice arena to be founded in Michigan. Visitors could skate for just $1 for children or $1.50 for adults. In 1984, Lakeside became the first mall in Michigan to feature an indoor tubular waterslide called the Hydrotube. Then in the 1990s, this space became a two-floor arcade called Tilt. Then in 1999, a food court was added near where Tilt once stood. The last significant renovation for Lakeside Mall was in 2007.
Due to changing consumer habits Sterling Heights leadership began researching best uses for the mall’s future, and in fall 2022, excitedly announced they would be working with Lionheart Capital, a Miami-based real estate development and capital investment fi rm’s retail subsidiary Out of the Box ventures, on the new Lakeside Town Center. This thoughtful redevelopment of the 110-acre site will transform the mall into a mixed-use city center, including multi-family apartments, retail and dining, office space, a hotel, 30 acres of a large central park system, a two-story community center with recreational facilities, and more.
Surrounding the town center will be the 1.5-mile lyrical loop, designed to promote active lifestyles. Construction of a 2.5- mile bike/hike trail will begin this year connecting the Lakeside Town Center development to the Iron Belle, Freedom and Clinton River trails. The top photo shows the front of Lakeside Mall from Hall Road. It is one of the earliest taken of the mall during its inaugural year of 1975. The bottom photo is also from 1975 and features Lakeside Mall administrators in the construction trailer reviewing plans for constructing the walls during an event called Mayoral Exchange Day. Sterling Heights Council member (1972-1987) and Mayor Pro Tem Jose Benavides can be seen sitting with his wife near the window.
As the redevelopment moves forward, feedback has quickly pivoted from nostalgia of what Lakeside Mall once was to excitement about what Lakeside Town Center will be.
Photos and mall history courtesy of the Sterling Heights Library and the Sterling Heights History Librarian Mitchell Mulroy.
