Tel-Twelve Mall

Tel-Twelve Mall is a shopping mall located in Southfield, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Developed as an enclosed mall in 1968, it was demolished and rebuilt in 2001 as a power center composed of big box tenants. Its anchor stores include Best Buy, DSW, Lowe's, Meijer, Michaels, Office Depot and PetSmart. The complex is owned and managed by Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, the same company that developed it.

Tel-Twelve Mall

Location	Southfield, Michigan, United States
Coordinates	42.499°N 83.283°W
Address	Telegraph Road
Opening date	1968
Developer	Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust
Management	Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust
Owner	Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust
Architect	Charles N. Agree
No. of stores and services	20
No. of anchor tenants	7
Total retail floor area	523,411 square feet (48,626.5 m^2) (GLA)
No. of floors	1
Public transit access	SMART 275, 405, 740

History

Tel-Twelve Mall opened in 1968 along Telegraph Road just north of Interstate 696 in Southfield, Michigan. The mall initially comprised two anchor stores: Kmart at the northern end and Montgomery Ward at the southern end, with a Chatham supermarket as a junior anchor in between.[1] It was designed by A&W Properties (now Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust), with Charles N. Agree as architect. It originally featured a fountain and Astroturf floors.[2]

At the time of its opening, Tel-Twelve Mall's viability was questioned by retailers, as Southfield already had a larger shopping mall, Northland Center.[1] Tel-Twelve was expanded four times in its history, eventually gaining a Crowley's department store as a third anchor in 1985,[3] as well as a food court. By 1990, the mall had gained a Kids "R" Us, and Silver's Office Supplies had replaced the Chatham.[4]

In 1994, a renovation of the mall added many stores, including Ruby Tuesday, Old Country Buffet, DSW Shoe Warehouse, and Gap Warehouse, which later became Media Play.[5] The Montgomery Ward store was downsized to make room for MC Sports and Office Depot, the former of which became Circuit City by 1996. Due to space limitations, a portion of the store had to be located across the mall hallway from the rest of the store.[6] It was also the first Circuit City store to be located inside an enclosed shopping mall.[7]

Crowley's closed in 2000, followed by Montgomery Ward a year later. Although the mall was still 85% occupied at the time, its tenant roster was largely composed of local stores.[1] Ramco-Gershenson had made a decision to demolish everything except for Kmart, Montgomery Ward, Office Depot, and Circuit City, and replace the rest of the complex with a strip mall. Kmart closed soon afterward, and its former location at the mall was demolished for a Meijer. The former Montgomery Ward was replaced with Michaels and Pier One, while other big box stores such as Lowe's supplanted the rest of the former enclosed mall space.[1] DSW also relocated to a new store on the site of the mall. Media Play became Best Buy, while the former Circuit City slot eventually became a PetSmart. The Office Depot closed in 2019, and an Ulta Beauty store opened in its place by 2020.

References

1. Marshall, Carol (2008-05-22). "Southfield Tel-Twelve mall revival stemmed from power mall reconfiguring". Oakland Business Review. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
2. "At Southfield, an indoor lawn: Tel-Twelve's carpeted mall". Detroit Free Press. November 13, 1968. p. 8D.
3. "Crowley's expands with new distribution center". The Detroiter. Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce. 7 (1–6): 6.
4. Directory of major malls. MJJTM Publications Corp. 1990. p. 336.
5. DeMaggio, Susan (6 June 1994). "Mall changes bring shoppers value". Canton Observer. pp. 8A–9A.
6. "Unique Circuit City configuration Provides Win-Win Solution for Tel-Twelve Mall in Southfield, Mich". PR Newswire. 1996-09-09. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
7. "Circuit City moving into Southfield mall". Detroit Free Press. September 10, 1996. pp. 1C. Retrieved April 27, 2020.