Signature Associates

Second act: Rebirth of Eastland mall site as industrial park boosts Harper Woods

 Posted By: Crain’s Detroit Business on April 11, 2025.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Signature Associates’ Joe Hamway and Greg Hudas are proud to handle the leasing and marketing of the Eastland Commerce Center.

Nearly a year after opening on the former Eastland Center mall site, the Eastland Commerce Center is reshaping Harper Woods’ economic outlook.

The industrial park on Vernier Road has brought in jobs, helped stabilize the city’s tax base by generating nearly half a million dollars in new revenue and ended years of financial uncertainty tied to the long-declining mall property. It has also encouraged the development of a rare new housing development in the Wayne County city.

“The impact of the redevelopment of the Eastland mall — from the mall to the center is phenomenal …” Harper Woods Mayor Valerie Kindle said. “That’s a blessing for us because now we’re getting taxes. They also did things to make it better, like installing retention ponds.”

NorthPoint Development built the industrial park that replaced the shopping center. Marc Werner, the company’s regional vice president, said 90% of the three-building complex is leased.

Previously announced tenants are Avancez Assembly, Temco Logistics and Thai Summit. A fourth tenant, which Werner declined to name due to a non-disclosure agreement, could announce its arrival later this year. That would leave room for one more tenant to complete the park.

Werner estimates more than 200 people are working there, with the companies in the start-up phase.

Kindle said the property wasn’t operating at its fullest potential as Eastland lost tenants and foot traffic faltered. It was also costly to maintain.

Because the land was primarily concrete and lacked stormwater management, more runoff entered the system, inflating the city’s contribution to the Milk River Intercounty Drain Drainage District fund — slightly less than Grosse Pointe Woods’ share, but significantly more than St. Clair Shores. In addition to that, the city lost revenue due to nearby Home Depot and Lowe’s stores claiming tax breaks due to vacancies at the mall.

“Malls were declining, so the stores were not there,” Kindle said. “Macy’s left, Target left. All that had happened within the last 15 years or so, and so we were not getting the taxable revenue that we should have been getting from that property.”

Financial benefits

Eastland Center was built in 1957 by a department store giant — J.L. Hudson Co. It provided a suburban option as east-side customers sought an alternative to shopping in downtown Detroit. Originally an open-air mall, it was enclosed in 1975.

The mall shuttered its doors with the exit of its last tenant in early 2022, following years of declining tenancy, fewer shoppers and safety concerns due to multiple shootings stretching back more than a decade before its closure.

In June 2021, the city and Missouri-based NorthPoint Development announced the mall would be razed to make way for an industrial site with 250 construction jobs and 560 permanent jobs. The property was touted as a strong site for industrial use because of its proximity to highways, including Interstate 94. During the following three years, the developer demolished the mall and erected three buildings ranging from 208,000 square feet to 536,000 square feet. The complex was completed in June 2024.

Before redevelopment, the mall was in stages of foreclosure, and the city was engaged in a costly legal fight with the previous owner through the Michigan Tax Tribunal. In addition to troubles with the mall owner, Kindle said Lowe’s and Home Depot were able to pay lower property taxes under a legal argument, known as the dark store theory, where retailers can request a reduction in property taxes based on the value of nearby vacant and closed stores.

“Lowe’s and Home Depot, which were doing phenomenal business but were able to tap into the dark store taxable reduction … (they) were paying us much less taxes because they could,” Kindle said. “Not because they were in any dire straits.”

Acting City Manager John Szymanski said Harper Woods’ overall taxable valuation has increased by more than $78 million since 2021, with $20 million of that tied directly to the Eastland Commerce Center. He said the development is responsible for generating more than $475,000 annually in new city revenue, which is helping fund essential services, such as police and fire protection, garbage collection, and snow and ice control.

“The Eastland Commerce Center is the reason we’re in a position to stabilize our finances and reinvest in the community,” Szymanski said. “We were receiving very little, if any, revenue from the mall in its final years — especially when factoring in the high municipal service costs.”

Leasing at Eastland Commerce Center largely came during the final quarter of 2024, which brought a flurry of activity that industry experts are optimistic will continue this year. With low vacancy rates and stable rents, experts expect continued demand for industrial sites, particularly for Class A properties.

Werner said the city has “been a tremendous partner, and really supportive of the development and eager for new economic development. They have been awesome.”

He noted the importance of stormwater management to the development.

“When we came to the site, there weren’t any ponds before,” he said. “The stormwater just went straight into the system. So we made sure to incorporate stormwater detention ponds to manage that runoff. It’s typical for our developments, and we take it very seriously to minimize environmental impacts and manage stormwater effectively.”

Once the Eastland Commerce Center reaches full occupancy, Szymanski says the city plans to pursue a reduction in Harper Woods’ Milk River Drain expenses, potentially within the next two years. Harper Woods’ $28.5 million general fund budget for 2025 includes $3.1 million for the drainage district.

The site’s redevelopment stopped the “dark store” tax tribunal cases around the city, Szymanski said.

Neither Lowe’s nor Home Depot responded to requests for comment regarding how the site’s redevelopment has impacted business. On Friday, business appeared steady at both stores as Lowe’s employees arranged flowers, mulch and soil in preparation for gardening season, while Home Depot shoppers picked up lumber and fencing.

New housing on the way

The redevelopment of the Eastland site has sparked a need for housing in the area to attract and retain local workers, Kindle said.

Following a city-issued request for qualifications, a plan emerged for a 71-unit for-sale housing development called Fraser Square. The project is set to break ground later this spring on the site of the former Poupard Elementary School, a Grosse Pointe Schools building on Lennon Street in Harper Woods.

“Harper Woods is landlocked,” Kindle said. “There are very few places. That was probably the only place that we could do something on that scale.”

Renovare Development and partner Robertson Brothers Homes are developing Fraser Square, an owner-occupied mix of condominiums and duplexes designed for middle-income residents. It’s expected to take two years to complete.

Shannon Morgan, co-founder and managing partner at Renovare Development, said Fraser Square is an attempt to meet the growing need for “missing middle” workforce housing. The homes will be sold in the low- to mid-$200,000.

Morgan said, backed by a target market analysis, the development is aimed at serving people earning 60% to 120% of the area median income. This includes teachers, city employees and other essential workers.

“There’s a major gap to produce what we call entry-level housing, or housing that fits the market,” she said.