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DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK!
Name: Centerpointe Mall
Age: 44
Occupation: dying shopping mall
Last Seen: Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: screwing over skaters
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Age: 44
Occupation: dying shopping mall
Last Seen: Grand Rapids, MI
Bee-otched For: screwing over skaters
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Grand Rapids sure is losing options of what one can do.
Ten years ago, you can go to a strip club and watch a beautiful woman get naked. But, not anymore thanks to the stupid city ordinance.
But now, you can add "skate indoors" to the list. And, it's not because of some city law. It's because the city's only indoor skate park shut its doors.
The Modern Skate Park at Centerpointe Mall has closed its doors, leaving thousands of skaters without a place to skate. The park had several half pipes and dips to please skaters young and old alike. To some, it was the only reason to go to Centerpointe.
According to Modern's owner, he claims that despite good business, the park's lease was going up, and he had no choice but to shut down. The park and store had been in business since 2001, occupying what had been Witmark.
Many are angry at the mall itself for not keeping their rent low. Centerpointe is one of Grand Rapids' most-unpopular malls, and the picture above proves it. Yes, that's Centerpointe Mall, complete with bare walls where tenants should be and few customers. Is it me, or does Centerpointe look like an elementary school classroom? I know, some have actually told me that when it was Eastbrook Mall some 20 years ago, it was much worse. But still, you can't polish a turd.
Sadly, Centerpointe doesn't know how to compete like the mall across the street, Woodland (and yes, there's two malls across the street from one another in Grand Rapids). For years, Woodland was THE mall in Grand Rapids, but when Rivertown Crossings was built in 1997, Woodland knew that in order to make money, they had to spend it. So, they added a new food court, did some remodeling here and there, added new stores, a movie theatre, some new restaurants, some new outparcels and even a new, two-story Barnes and Noble.
Centerpointe? Well, they do have an Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Lane Bryant, Menard's and a few other places here and there. Oh, there's Chuck E. Cheese! Otherwise, it's worthless. No, wait! The Secretary of State's there, too! OK, so it has a purpose, after all.
However, the mall's lost more than gained over the years. In just a few years alone, it's lost Steve and Barry's (bankruptcy), Linens 'N Things (all Michigan stores closed) and Klingman's (moved to the old Rogers Plaza building only to go bankrupt). But, there's some hope on the way.
It has been announced that the mall is finalizing plans to renovate itself into a power center, or in other words, outdoor mall. About half of the mall would be demolished to make way for it to be an outdoor mall. Several former indoor malls in Michigan, such as Rochester's Winchester Mall, Warren's Universal Mall and Traverse City's Cherryland Center are prime examples. Many have been successful, although in the case of Cherryland Center, it has been thrown into foreclosure due to budget problems with some of their long-time tenants, such as Tom's Food Market and Ravissaint, a store that sells lingerie and adult novelties bailing ship.
According to Centerpointe's management, the mall's finalization into being an outdoor mall should be finalized in 2013.
Meanwhile, Modern's owner says that he's looking into options in the Grand Rapids area. He still had two stores in Lansing and Royal Oak.
In the end, yes, it'll be nice if Centerpointe's owners - Lormax Stern - *actually* did something to the mall. If making it an outdoor mall helps, so let it be. However, in an age where kids spend more time in front of a TV screen than outdoors, I think it would be cool if somebody did open another skate park in town. Skateboarders need an outlet, and slacking off in front of an XBox shouldn't be the option.
Once again, Chris Rock is right: every town has two malls: the mall the white people go to, and the one the white people USED to go to. In Centerpointe's case, I think people of all races have abandoned that sinking ship.
---Ten years ago, you can go to a strip club and watch a beautiful woman get naked. But, not anymore thanks to the stupid city ordinance.
But now, you can add "skate indoors" to the list. And, it's not because of some city law. It's because the city's only indoor skate park shut its doors.
The Modern Skate Park at Centerpointe Mall has closed its doors, leaving thousands of skaters without a place to skate. The park had several half pipes and dips to please skaters young and old alike. To some, it was the only reason to go to Centerpointe.
According to Modern's owner, he claims that despite good business, the park's lease was going up, and he had no choice but to shut down. The park and store had been in business since 2001, occupying what had been Witmark.
Many are angry at the mall itself for not keeping their rent low. Centerpointe is one of Grand Rapids' most-unpopular malls, and the picture above proves it. Yes, that's Centerpointe Mall, complete with bare walls where tenants should be and few customers. Is it me, or does Centerpointe look like an elementary school classroom? I know, some have actually told me that when it was Eastbrook Mall some 20 years ago, it was much worse. But still, you can't polish a turd.
Sadly, Centerpointe doesn't know how to compete like the mall across the street, Woodland (and yes, there's two malls across the street from one another in Grand Rapids). For years, Woodland was THE mall in Grand Rapids, but when Rivertown Crossings was built in 1997, Woodland knew that in order to make money, they had to spend it. So, they added a new food court, did some remodeling here and there, added new stores, a movie theatre, some new restaurants, some new outparcels and even a new, two-story Barnes and Noble.
Centerpointe? Well, they do have an Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Lane Bryant, Menard's and a few other places here and there. Oh, there's Chuck E. Cheese! Otherwise, it's worthless. No, wait! The Secretary of State's there, too! OK, so it has a purpose, after all.
However, the mall's lost more than gained over the years. In just a few years alone, it's lost Steve and Barry's (bankruptcy), Linens 'N Things (all Michigan stores closed) and Klingman's (moved to the old Rogers Plaza building only to go bankrupt). But, there's some hope on the way.
It has been announced that the mall is finalizing plans to renovate itself into a power center, or in other words, outdoor mall. About half of the mall would be demolished to make way for it to be an outdoor mall. Several former indoor malls in Michigan, such as Rochester's Winchester Mall, Warren's Universal Mall and Traverse City's Cherryland Center are prime examples. Many have been successful, although in the case of Cherryland Center, it has been thrown into foreclosure due to budget problems with some of their long-time tenants, such as Tom's Food Market and Ravissaint, a store that sells lingerie and adult novelties bailing ship.
According to Centerpointe's management, the mall's finalization into being an outdoor mall should be finalized in 2013.
Meanwhile, Modern's owner says that he's looking into options in the Grand Rapids area. He still had two stores in Lansing and Royal Oak.
In the end, yes, it'll be nice if Centerpointe's owners - Lormax Stern - *actually* did something to the mall. If making it an outdoor mall helps, so let it be. However, in an age where kids spend more time in front of a TV screen than outdoors, I think it would be cool if somebody did open another skate park in town. Skateboarders need an outlet, and slacking off in front of an XBox shouldn't be the option.
Once again, Chris Rock is right: every town has two malls: the mall the white people go to, and the one the white people USED to go to. In Centerpointe's case, I think people of all races have abandoned that sinking ship.
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Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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