The Enfield Square Mall auction and what it means for the town

Enfield Square Mall, Nov. 16, 2018

Enfield Square Mall, a 63 acre site, is up for auction with a minimum bid of $3.8 million.  This is more than a retail shopping space. It occupies Enfield's commercial heart and it helps to shape how the community thinks of itself. People see a mall emptying out and may wonder about leaving as well. But the mall area has enormous potential.

The mall is between two highway exits. It's close to a major regional airport. It is arguably the town's most prime location, but this doesn't mean the auction will lead to a positive change. A winning bidder may not have the town's best interest in mind, and that's why the town and state need to be proactive.

Municipalities wrestling with similarly troubled malls are trying to recreate them into mixed use facilities, with housing, hotels, office space, restaurants and shops. That's what the city of Harper Woods, Michigan is attempting.

In September, Harper Woods released a reuse plan for its mall that included creating some 600 townhouses and apartments and row houses along with a hotel and shopping area. (See renderings). The mall was also auctioned. That city is apparently trying to interest the new owner in its reuse plan by relocating a civic center to the mall. Whether its new owner is interested in this reuse concept remains to be seen.

Can Enfield bid for the mall? 

Enfield could theoretically bid for the mall, but probably can't under its spending rules and is likely unable to act on short notice.  The town, as owner, could then seek redevelopment proposals. But that's not going to happen. The town will have to try to find a way to work with the new owner and see if something can't be done to turn the mall property into something that revitalizes this area.

The town can make a case for state economic development help. It will need incentives to gain leverage. The state has pumped millions of dollars into state cites in an effort to revitalize their downtowns. The Enfield Square Mall land can be Enfield's downtown. It can be the center of this community.

Enfield's Central Business District today is a sprawling mess. The mall is built for a different era. There's no bike lanes, not enough crosswalks or sidewalks. There is, inexplicably, no sidewalk on the western side of the Mall along Freshwater Blvd. Why were the original developers allowed to get away with that?

People go to the Enfield Central Business District because they have to, not because they want to.

But the large mall area could become Enfield's new downtown, with housing, offices, retail and entertainment. But how do we make that happen? How can we turn this area into something the community can be proud of?


Some notes:

What To Do with Dead Malls, by Anson Burtch in Renaissance Planning. He writes what seems true for Enfield: "From a land-use perspective, dead malls are full of possibility."

Enfield Continues to Diversity its Profile, by Joseph Bednar in Business West. This piece discusses Enfield's overall growth strategy. It does point out that Panera Bread is relocating to its own building in the Home Depot plaza.

Why Malls Should Add Residential To Their Repurposing Plan, by Pamela Danziger in Forbes. It discusses the implications of a Credit Suisse report predicting that about one fourth of the nation's 1,100 malls will close within a few years.