Livonia Mall: Livonia (Detroit), Michigan on DeadMalls.com

LIVONIA MALL: LIVONIA (DETROIT), MI

Eric Mackey's Commentary:

Posted December 2, 2006 (user submitted)

Livonia Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Livonia, Michigan. The center is located at the corner of 7 Mile Road and Middlebelt Road. The Mall fell victim to the overmalling of the Western Detroit Suburbs, which were bigger, newer and consistantly remodeled to stay current with the times. Livonia Mall faced competition From Wonderland Mall (Which was also located in Livonia, but closed in the late 90's), Westland Mall in Westland (built in 1967), and the high-end Laurel Park Place Mall also in Livonia (1989). All of these malls are within 7 miles of Livonia mall.

The mall opened in 1962 with Sears and Kresge as anchors. A southern wing with Crowley's was added in the 1970s, and a northern wing with Mervyn's came in 1981. The mall also featured many retailers that were new to the Detroit area over the years such as a Jonathan B. Pub and a Pet store. Livonia Mall prided itself on having the largest Mall-based Sears in the state of Michigan. The Kresge Space closed in the late 80's and remained vacant for years, until the late 1990's when The futureball paintball (yes, I said paintball) began leasing the space. Crowley's converted their store to Value City in the 1990's and Most recently in 2006 Mervyn's closed all their Michigan locations, leaving that space vacant.

Livonia Mall has also not been remodeled since it first opened, and sections of it looked very dated. Many storefronts are vacant, and most of the remaining tenants are mom-and-pop stores. Last time I was at the mall, it was virtually empty the entire day. Its simply could not compete with Westland Mall which also features a large Sears, and The high-end Laurel Park Place which features a Von Maur (Formerly Jacobsons) and a brookstone. Since the mall has fallen on hard times, plans were made to convert the center to a strip mall in 2006. These plans have stalled, however, as the mall could not strike a deal with the Sears anchor.

Andy S Rodriguez's Commentary:

Posted December 5, 2006 (user submitted September 15, 2006)

Livonia Mall opened in 1964 at Middlebelt and 7 Mile Rd in Livonia. I remember when I was little, my mom and I would go to Livonia and Wonderland Malls during Christmas season if we didn't find what we wanted at the Westland Mall. At the time, the mall was busy and full of occupants.

Just recently after reading the editorials on the Summit and Wonderland Malls, I wanted to do an editorial on Livonia Mall. According to my friend Tommy, who lives in Livonia, told me Livonia wasn't doing too great either. So two weeks ago, I went and I was shocked.

I entered at the entrance next to Sears. As soon as I walked in, I noticed the whole right side of the hallway didn't have any stores except for the JoAnn Fabrics. The only store opened in the hallway was the pet store in the corner. I remembered going to the pet store as a lad and I was glad it was still around.

I continued on and right away I noticed too more things:

The mall wasn't busy at all. At Westland Mall, the whole place is crowed.
The lighting was very poor.

I continued walking and noticed a lot of stores vacant and shuttered. I turned down the main hallway and most of the kiosks were closed as well. The place was so empty that I yelled randomly down the hall way and I could hear my echo.

One thing they did have that Westland doesn't have is... water fountains! I threw in a penny and wished for the mall's survival.

Other than Value City, Sears, the pet store and JoAnn Fabrics, the only places that were open were the Cinema, GNC, Foot Locker, FYE, Gamestop (formerly Babbages), a very small arcade, and a few other small chain clothing stores.

And a food court? I cannot even remember if there was one. I couldn't imagine where there would be one since it's shaped like a T. I know there use to be places like a Baker's Square, a pizza place and a cafe. Now, there is only a small hot dog place and a Coney Island.

There were still signs up of places like Claire's and Radio Shack. It's a shame the paintball place closed. And the now-closed Mervyn's is an eye sore.

Tommy said that in a Livonian paper, the mall would close soon. However, when we interviewed a kiosk and Footlocker worker (they were just talking, not being busy of course), the kiosk lady said she just renewed a lease for a year and a lease cannot be broken. Thus, we know the Livonia Mall will be around at least until August 2007. After that is unknown.

Sears and Value City were really busy so I doubt the whole mall will get demolished. However, I think the indoor part may go. I think that if more worthwhile stores were put in, then more people would come. But without shoppers, business owners won't want to go there. It seems to be an unfortunate cycle.

Denise Davis-Camillo’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2023

Livonia Mall opened on October 29, 1964. NOT in 1962. There was still a big red barn there in 1962.

Ed Collins’ Commentary:

Does anyone know the name of the pub that was in Livonia mall back in the middle 70's?

Kent Anderson’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2021

Wonderland closed in 2003. Livonia mall, 2009. Last time I was in the mall was 2003. Brought a pair of sneakers with a $50 Sears gift card and saw a movie. My sister lives right past there. We grew up within two miles of that place from when it opened until I moved out in 1980. That fountain was surrounded by what we would call today pop-up's. In high school, used to go there to pick up chicks...lol Loved that little record store next to the Cinema. Knew the owners. They used to save the rare covers for me and I got 45's for .25. Early 70's. So many memories. Now, they're all gone.

Linda Elliott’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2020

We shopped at Livonia Mall from its opening until 1980 when we left Livonia. My brother worked at Crowley's in the early 1970s, and I'm sure Crowleys was open by 1970. There used to be a Sander's with a soda counter in the branch between the anchors, and I spent much time at the General Cinema. There was a Coney Island Hotdogs and a bar next to the Kresge Drugs in the 1970s, but I can't think of another food place at that time beyond Sander's. There was a Musicland, another very narrow record store next to the cinema and yes, water fountains. Also, I still recall the heavy smell of over-buttered popcorn wafting from the Sears interior entrance. This mall had beautifull Christmas decorations with animated figures in different scenes - an exciting thing to see as a kid!

Kurt B Smith’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2019

Spoke with some of the management at the Sears store recently, and despite the large amount of square footage, the store is actually profitable and has survived the last few mass closures the parent company has levied. The Wal-Mart and Kohl's stores seem to be busy most of the time and the out-buildings are nearly full with tenants.

Ryan Passarelli’s Commentary:

They also had a Target

sjh’s Commentary:

User submitted Jan 2012

I'm surprised the Livonia Mall entry hasn't been updated since 2006.

Sometime between 2007 and 2008, the mall closed for business. The Sears anchor store remained open, and the JoAnn's store was the last mall store to close.

By the summer of 2009, most of the mall had been demolished. Sears still existed, but the old Livonia Mall sign (where the parking lot met the corner of 7 Mile and Middlebelt) was also torn down.

The tear-down was apparently part of a long-planned redevelopment. In the summer of 2010, construction finished on a new Wal-Mart and a cluster of separated stores in a strip-mall setup. The parking area for Wal-Mart overlaps what used to be mall floor. (I can see portions of Sears' exterior which had formerly been visible from inside the mall.) The strip-mall setup is close to the road-frontage, and the stores are clustered in discrete blocks.

As of the end of 2011, it appears that a branch of Kohls is being constructed on the far side of the Wal-Mart.

Pattye’s Commentary:

User submitted May 2008

My family and I have been spending a lot more time at Livonia Mall lately. The entire environment is somewhat surreal. The Mall is closing its doors for good on 31 May 2008. They are talking about demolition beginning in mid-June. After that they have plans (allegedly) of rebuilding. The Sears store (which owns their property) is going to remain open, along with the JoAnns and the Baker's Square (which I feel should go without saying as it is an independantly-standing building.) The few remaining open stores have been empty except for the New York Deli which has a decent number of customers flowing out from the Sears, I suppose. The Sears, however, seems to haave basically a normal number of customers-which makes it all the more bizarre to exit the store into the mall-section, like stepping into a different time. We (being my family and I,) went there today and got some pictures. As my computer-literacy falls somewhat
short of the level needed to submit my pictures, I will have my husband submit them after we've gone over them.

The arcade and classic toy-sore have both now closed, as well as a store that I don't know what it was, but there were a goddly number of teens, and music. The Koney Island may be open (the sign says they're closed on Sundays, so the rest of the week may still be good.) Now Sears, JoAnns, the Game Stop, the New York Deli, GNC, and the leather shop (which I don't know the name of-perhaps it is a Wilson's(?)) seem to be all that remains. It was a Sunday, though, so I may have missed some. (Note: The Baker's Square is also open, but it is not attatched, so I do not consider it a part of the mall even if it is on their directory.)

Depending on their schedule, I will also try to get some pictures of the demolition.

Anton Dolicek’s Commentary:

User submitted Feb 2007

The only stores left in Livonia Mall that you've heard of are the anchors, Sears and Value City, and JoAnn, GNC, Foxmoor, Gamestop, Dollar Tree, Foot Locker, and the U.S. Postal Service. There's an H&R Block, which I'm betting will be gone April 16. There's also a Koney Island and American Family Cinema, which advertises first-run movies (or, as the marquee on Seven Mile Road puts it, ST M V Y WEE). In the last year or so, Mervyns, Hallmark, B. Dalton, FYE, and Co/Op Optical have vacated. (The latter appear to have vacated twice; their sign still hangs over both locations.) The rest are mom-and-pop-type places offering various goods of uncertain provenance and quality, but there are enough of them to push occupancy up to about 60%.

The place is just dreary, the opposite of warm and inviting. Someone obviously mops the floor frequently, but basically what they're doing is moving the dirt around. I will cut them a little slack about this during the winter, but the rest of their housekeeping leaves a lot to be desired. The restrooms have obviously not been updated since opening day.

If I was in charge, I would take the recognizable stores listed above and move them into a strip between Value City and Sears, and blow up the rest of the building. Livonia being the bedroom community that it is, the land on the backside of the property must look like a gold mine to real estate developers. There is some talk that that very thing may come true in 2008, but till then, Livonia Mall is a depressing relic that is taking up valuable space that can be put to much better use.