Where was the city of Ann Arbor when it came to deterioration of Georgetown Mall?
I have lived in this neighborhood for 17 years and share many of these feelings.
We shopped there frequently and our son was a bagger for a time during his high school years. I won’t forget the ringing of the Salvation Army bell at Christmas, when trips to pick up last minute items are more frequent.
As an Ann Arbor real estate agent, however, I see the situation from a little different perspective. The mall at Georgetown has been falling into disrepair for years. I remember when businesses occupied all of the retail spaces and at least a good part of the office building.The mall owner was notorious for neglecting maintenance and making promises he was unable or unwilling to keep. The parking lot looks like a battlefield with broken pavement and potholes the size of bushel baskets. Roofs leaked, duct tape held air conditioning units together, and buildings were generally neglected to the chagrin of the business people trying to operate successfully in them.
There have been reports of vagrants living in the abandoned office building and high school kids often loitered in the mall, making shoppers and shopkeepers feel uneasy and intimidated. Property taxes went delinquent as far back as 2004.
Anyone living along King George Boulevard or Page Avenue knows the mall, in its current state, is only bringing home values down. Who would want to live next to a crumbling icon of years gone by or face the possibility that the site eventually becomes the home of something undesirable? Soon weeds will grow and graffiti will likely cover the walls.I attended several of the community meetings when proposals for redevelopment were unveiled. There was a grand plan to demolish the mall and rebuild a modern “pedestrian-friendly” center with lots of appeal and multipurpose usage. These were plans that went nowhere.
Where was the City of Ann Arbor during this period, I wonder? I know business owners complained and I know they had plenty of legitimate things to complain about. My eyes tell me little or nothing was done. I heard the city levied a fine, but was it ignored like everything else?
To me the question is why didn’t the City of Ann Arbor do more to protect area residents from the disastrous effects of what has been happening at the mall for years? I am no proponent of government involvement in the private affairs of people, but this is Ann Arbor.
Doesn't the city have layer upon layer of oversight and regulation for the beloved historic neighborhoods and the cherished downtown area? We have the DDA (Downtown Development Authority), A2D2 (the Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown Steering Committee), the HHSAB (Housing and Human Services Advisory Board) and 83 more boards and commissions. Ann Arbor has a rather notorious reputation for making (re)development expensive and time consuming.
There are rules and regulations galore that prevent people from taking steps deemed unacceptable by the local power brokers and boisterous residents. We regulate the amount of phosphorous in lawn fertilizer for the benefit of the watershed and we pay a bit more in the way of property tax to preserve our greenbelt. We house people displaced by closure of a rundown residential YMCA and hire consultants at the drop of a hat to study and report.
What about the residents of the Georgetown Mall area? Are they not entitled to some protection? The abandonment of the Georgetown Mall by the previous businesses was inevitable. The lack of cooperation on the part of the owner was painfully obvious, inexcusable and well documented over a long period of time. Why didn't the city step in to protect itself and the local residents the same way it does elsewhere? The last time I looked, we are all paying the same millage. Is downtown Ann Arbor entitled to any more protection than the residents of Georgetown receive?Could the city attorney have stepped in years ago and required the owner to maintain the property to some reasonable standard? Could the city have required action on the part of the owner and placed a lien on the property if reasonable steps were not taken? If the sidewalk in front of my house needs repair, I can darn sure count on the city enforcing its regulations, and that isn't even my property!
This dilemma has a broad impact on city coffers as well as on the local residents. Who will make up the loss of tax revenue as the value of this site plummets due to blight? Who will compensate neighboring residents for the loss in value of their homes? Where do the employees of businesses find new jobs? How much will the police department spend trying to maintain public safety on an abandoned 6.5 acre site?
I suppose you can lay the blame at the feet of the owner, but to me there seems to be an incongruity. Does the city have some responsibility to protect this area, and others, from becoming blighted due to the ruthless actions of an investor who only wanted to take money out of the community and not put anything back?
Maybe we need one more city commission. This one would be a watchdog organization overseeing properties and would help qualify the financial solvency of would-be investors. We could call it A3P2OD, short for the Ann Arbor Authority for Property Protection Outside Downtown.
Until then, I suppose those of us who live in the area will just have to carry on as best as we can. For some reason though, it just doesn’t seem right.
All photos are of Georgetown Mall taken by David Wallner.
David Wallner is married with two college-bound children, works as a full-time Realtor and has made his home in Ann Arbor since 1982.
Comments
CycloChemist
Thu, Aug 27, 2009 : 1:41 p.m.
What's done is done. I'm appalled, but not completely surprised, that Schubiner and Harbor Realty got a "hardship" extension on the tax sale. We need this property to "move on." We ought to be asking what's next for this patch of real estate? What are our options? If no developer sees an opportunity here, then will a no-sale at the tax sale mean the city reclaims the property? and what then? I'd like to see the current buildings removed, the asphalt hauled out, and clean fill dirt dumped here (maybe from the big hole the city needs to dig next to the library?) to bring a good bit surface area up to the level of Packard Rd. where some small business would have good access and visibility. What can members of the neighborhood do to move this along?
PittsfieldTwp
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 11:04 a.m.
In the name of all things "Let's have stores within walking/biking distance so we don't all have to drive to regional centers", the ball here was dropped big time.
sottovoce
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 7:57 p.m.
sb ease off the coffee. Btw I thought it was in the 3rd ward, too. We must be dim in this ward.
Tim R. Land
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 5:45 p.m.
The only time the City ever cared was when it was constructed (permitting and inspections) or if the Owners have ever neglected to pay their taxes! Get over yourself and you beef with the City and get on the Owner yourself. It is NOT the City's responsibility to provide maintenance to private buildings, especially, buildings that are in decent shape. If it had gaping holes in the roof, and were condemnable - then the city condemns the building. Seriously, start writing letters to the building Owner if you're not happy - this is a non-issue right now at the local government level.
treetowncartel
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 11:52 a.m.
It is a bit of a shame waht took place, but comparing this town with a lot of others in the midwest this is a relatively minor situation. As has already been pointed out, it will eventually get rehabed/redevloped. Rome was not built in a day either.
Dan Pritts
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 10:56 a.m.
The parking lot in front of the mall is in fair condition but not great. The parking lot to the side, where the dry cleaners is, and off to the back entrance, is truly a minefield. Regarding getting the old hotel torn down, yes, that took forever. That's a symptom of the same problem that is described here, not an excuse for why Georgetown should have been left to shrivel and die. I'm sure that once the city paid attention to the problem, it took time to go through process. But when did they really start? I fear what's going to happen to the property now that it's closing, and I hope that the comparison to the old hotel doesn't turn out to be foreshadowing...
Tim R. Land
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 9:10 a.m.
So Josber, you really think YOU could do a better job? You're really calling this "blight"?! Hardly. It's a crappy shopping center, in a crappy location, that because of it's crappy location (down in a hole) is failing. Sure it isn't spanking brand new, like many of the strip malls on Washtenaw - so you automatically assume that it's "blight" because it doesn't work into the contemporary vocabulary of strip mall design. Also, it being called a "wreck," can mean multiple things, not it just needing maintenance, so I'd like that word defined. The City is not responsible for holding the hand of an owner of private property. Now, if come winter and they're sidewalks are not clear, AND someone reports them, then the City needs to step up and fine them, that's an ordinance! ALSO, someone mentioned that the parking lot was in such terrible condition?! I walked past there yesterday and I LOOKED at the parking lot. Are you blind? Do you have cracks in your eyeballs? There is nothing wrong with that parking lot! If anything you should be appalled at the horrendous landscaping near the road.
josber
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 6:50 a.m.
That parcel has been for sale for many years and there are no takers. Now the disrepair will accelerate, and it truly is a blighted area, bringing down the neighborhood and area. Just a pity, not far from the bridge that needs repair, a few weeks before the start of football season, just down the road from that really great project someone dropped 55 million on. Honestly people, this local governing crowd need to go, and we need some real leadership through this difficult times.
salinesal
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 10:04 p.m.
These are private property issues. People and land owners have a right to fail. Bad owners loose their businesses, it's a fact of life. Government has no role in personal property issues and certainly shouldn't take over and run a shopping mall. Government needs to keep the area safe and keep lawbreakers away. If the neighbor hood is vibrant, a new owner will come in and create something that will be an asset to the area. Free markets and fair competition always lead to excellence. As rents and property taxes reset to affordable levels, new entrepreneurs will start business and create jobs.
miman
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 6:02 p.m.
I remember some years ago when Kroger wanted to close that location but the residents of Georgetown were totally against it because they thought of it as being their store. Kroger has had a long presence in the area (prior to Georgetown, it use to be where the old Food & Drug Mart was). Too bad that they finally had to call it a day at Georgetown as well. I will miss it.
Georgetown Dad
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 5:30 p.m.
As a person who lives within walking distance of this mall, I remember when it was a not-very-attactive but still very busy center. I hear that all the tenants left not becuase it was a wreck (which it undoubtedly is) but becasue management told them it would be torn down to redevelop it, so the tenants had to relocate. If they had not been told that, I bet we would still have the same great tenants (Anthony's Pizza, anyone?) and the same run-down (but awesome!) mall. RIP, Georgetown Mall.
Owen23
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 4:30 p.m.
Rici: Exactly. It's private property. City Gov.'s powers are quite limited.
Owen23
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 4:28 p.m.
Texorama: Might want to check your facts. Georgetown Mall? That's Ward 4, not Ward 3, so not Greden's ward. The road is the dividing line between Ward 3 (Greden) and Ward 4 (not so much). It never ceases to amaze me that people are on such a hair trigger to criticize Greden, they'll jump at any excuse.
Rici
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 3:32 p.m.
If you think the city could easily step in and force the owner to take care of the property, then you probably didn't spend much time on Jackson Road between I-94 and Zeeb. That huge abandoned hotel and restaurant say unoccupied, deserted-then-squatted, and slowly fell apart over the past decade or more. It's finally being torn down, but it took a LONG time for anything to happen.
texorama
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 2:57 p.m.
Good questions, and here's another. Given all the hand-wringing among the city's power elite about the defeat of Leigh Greden, where was he while this retail hub in his ward, heavily patronized by walkers and bicyclists, was falling apart? Its demise doesn't seem to testify to his much-ballyhooed competence.
Macabre Sunset
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 12:56 p.m.
This is a good location, though, and served a lot of people. I don't necessarily agree with the author that Big Government should step in and enforce a set of random standards, as they do downtown (thus preventing retail from ever returning in significant quantities). But what happened was a huge shame, and it would be nice to see some grant money available to a developer who sees that area's potential. Have to wonder if the Salvation Army did drive people away at times, though. I remember the layout and acoustics made the bell-ringing particularly obnoxious there. Not that it's a reason for the decay.
Al Feldt
Mon, Aug 24, 2009 : 12:33 p.m.
I have noticed many abandoned shoping malls in cities throughout the country including some of our once more prosperous states like California and Texas. I suggest that the problem lies with overeager and short sighted developers, retailers, and realtors, not with city government. There is a finite amount of shopping capacity in every community and when a brand new mall goes up and attracts "new" customers, those customers are actkually just the "old" customers of some other shopping area. It takes a few years but guess what happens to the old shopping area?