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Demolition began at the former J.L. Hudson Company’s department store in the closed Eastland Shopping Center in Harper Woods this week, fans of the former store reported in a Facebook group. Posts show large excavators removing the outer walls of the building, exposing three stories in the beloved department store and mall.
Eastland was purchased by the Kansas City-based NorthPoint Development in 2021. The mall retained roughly 10% occupancy by late 2021. The mall closed in early 2022 to make way for warehouses and a possible industrial distribution center.
Many on the J.L. Hudson’s Department Store Facebook page lamented the loss of their beloved local mall. For nearby residents, the Eastland mall served as a community center and meeting ground.
Hudson’s Eastland store was one of several branch locations spread across southeast Michigan. The company expanded from its flagship location on Woodward Avenue into metro Detroit following WWII, building the nation’s first suburban shopping mall in 1954 in Southfield. The Eastland Shopping Center opened in 1957.
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Yet, the suburban malls lured customers away from the downtown location. Coupled with a decline in Detroit’s population, sales at the massive downtown store dropped. Hudson’s flagship location closed its doors in 1983 and the building was imploded in 1998.
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The suburban malls slowly declined in the 2000s. Northland closed in 2015 and was purchased by the city of Southfield. Eastland was auctioned off in 2018 after losing its anchor tenants, like Target and Macy’s.
More: Eastland Center mall in Harper Woods will go to auction for just $500K
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More: Eastland Center mall’s final months: What it’s like inside
Northland was purchased by the Bloomfield Hills-based Contour Companies in 2021 for redevelopment into a large-scale housing and retail center, which is expected to cost just over $400 million. Demolition began on the Northland Mall in September Sept. 2021.
More: Demolition to start soon on Northland mall as $403M project moves forward
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More: Demolition underway, groundbreaking set for Northland site
Elissa Welle is a breaking news reporter. You can email her at [email protected] or find her on Twitter at @ElissaWelle.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Demolition begins at Eastland Center mall
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