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Friday, 11 August, 2006 11:09 PM
UPDATE:
Wonderland Mall Demolition Is Underway
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com
The
only recognizable piece of Wonderland Mall that remains is the sign
on the corner of Plymouth and Middlebelt roads.
In a story that we brought you first, we've got an update. The Wonderland
Mall complex located at Plymouth Rd. and Middlebelt Rd. in Livonia
is being demolished. Construction crews have completely leveled
most of the mall. AmericaJR.com was the first media outlet to announce
that the mall was being demolished.
The only
part of the mall that is left standing is the Wonderland Target
store. It will remain standing until the new Super Wal-Mart and
Target are constructed. Once that happens, the old Target store
will be demolished for an un-named tenant.
On February
28, 2003, AmericaJR.com announced that the Wonderland Mall would
close it's doors for good. We conducted interviews with some of
the tenants inside as well as some of the shoppers. We
told you before the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News or the
Livonia Observer. After we made the announcement, the media was
all over this story.
Wonderland
Mall was built back in 1959. It was sitting on the land of a former
airport. When it was built, it was an outside mall. There was no
roof covering until it was enclosed in the 1980's. The mall used
to be the largest one in Wayne County and third-largest in the state
of Michigan.
What
does the future hold for Wonderland?
Wonderland
Mall will be completely demolished. Schostak & Corp. is the
developer that owns the land. They have released a site plan that
includes a new Super Wal-Mart store and a Target store along side
each other. There will be another major retailer but we do not know
that it will be yet. There will also be other small retailers closer
to Plymouth Rd. that include coffee shops, a restaurant and more.
The
shopping center will be named "Wonderland Village." It
sits on 74 acres of land. The project costs an estimated $80 million.
Wonderland Village is expected to open next Spring. Demolition is
going on right now. Then, construction will begin soon after.
One
visitor on our message boards named Psychomom wrote,
"I heard that Wonderland Mall may be redone so it may compete
better with the newer malls such as Westland and Fairlane. I hope
it is true, I used to shop at Wonderland all the time as a kid,
and would love to keep the tradition alive with my kids. Nothing
could replace Wonderland Mall, NOTHING."
"They
just need to keep up with the times, get some feedback from the
younger group as to why they go to the other malls instead of Wonderland
Mall. I know one reason, the stores are smaller than at Westland,
for example, Rave, it is only half the size, or smaller, than the
one in Westland, therefore they can not keep the inventory as large.
Make larger stores, more up to date stores, and people would return
to Wonderland Mall. Losing Old Navy was a bad thing, they need to
get them back."
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com
Piles
of steel, brick and concrete are stacked up in what used to be Wonderland
Mall.
PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / AMERICAJR.com
This
is the exact location where Service Merchandise once stood.
Click
here
for more pictures of the demolition of Wonderland Mall.
Related
Stories:
Exclusive:
Wonderland Mall Is Closing
Update:
Wonderland Mall To Be Torn Down
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