For almost half a century, the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn has attracted shoppers from the city and around the region.
But as with other suburban shopping malls, it has struggled as consumers looked elsewhere and went online to shop. Crime has also been a problem at times.
On Saturday, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud announced that there will a new owner of the mall that opened in 1976. Hammoud did not identify the new buyer. The purchase was first reported by Crain’s Detroit, which said the sale is expected to close next month with an unnamed buyer.
Hammoud also said the city was going to be more proactive in pushing business developers to create community benefits.
Spread out over three floors and 110 acres, Fairlane Town Center has 1.4 million square feet with 125 stores and an 83% occupancy rate, according to the city of Dearborn.
Hammoud wants the center to be a “bridge between all parts of” Dearborn. The mall sits between the western and eastern parts of the city.
Hammoud sees the center as potentially part of a renewed landscape that’s more walkable and bike-friendly in a city where Ford Motor Co. is headquartered.
“A lot of residents are asking for more forms of mobility and connectivity, in terms of biking and hiking trails,” Hammoud said, adding that Fairline goes “right through the center of our city. You have a way to connect safely between the west part of town and the east part of town. And this can be just that.”
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Ford said last year it intends to sell a nearby 26-acre plot of land that Hammoud said could be connected to Fairlane. Across from the mall is a former hotel that may be turned into apartments.
Hammoud also talked about developing affordable housing, which is a growing issue in Dearborn and Michigan.
Hammoud said his news conference is part of a tour of city areas he has been making since taking office as mayor last month. Some city directors and the general manager of the mall, Danny Fayad, stood behind as he spoke.
Hammoud said it’s a “stereotype” that Fairlane is “a mall going under.”
Hammoud said the mall still attracts a lot of shoppers and he’s optimistic about the future of Fairlane, saying it has one of the highest grossing Macy’s stores in the country.
“The uniqueness of Dearborn is that we’re a community that likes to spend our dollars in the city,” Hammoud said.
Hammoud said that in contrast to previous administrations, his will be more active in working with developers in order to help residents.
“The message is there’s proactive leadership at City Hall, that we’re no longer sitting on the sidelines,” Hammoud said. “We want to be the ones that drive the conversation. In the past, what’s happened is we’ve just left it to developers to pick and choose what they’re doing all across the city.
“We’re flipping the script. If developers want to operate in the city of Dearborn, we want to make sure that we’re partnering and that there’s an element of community benefits that’s happening with each and every single project all throughout the city.”
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or Twitter @nwarikoo