New owner of Oakland Mall wants an ‘anti-mall’ with TikTok stars
Proposed design of new Oakland Mall.
The new 31-year-old owner of Oakland Mall in Troy said he intends to gradually transform it into an “anti-mall” that will appeal to young people of the TikTok generation and feature new, unique and affordable entertainment options for families.
“We feel like this is one of the sleepiest sites in metro Detroit, and we are going to wake it up. This mall has so much potential,” Mario Kiezi, a real estate investor and founder of MKiezi Investments, said at a news conference inside the mall.
Kiezi said he bought the 117-acre property from CenterCal Properties for an undisclosed price. The 1.5 million-square-foot shopping mall, on 14 Mile near Interstate 75 in Oakland County, dates to 1968 and is about 90% occupied. Its anchor stores are Macy’s, JC Penney, Dick’s Sporting Goods and At Home.
He emphasized that Oakland Mall is currently healthy and not dying. He praised its good central location near busy roads and highways, and shared details of his near-term plans for bringing in new tenants.
“We’re going to bring things that you’ve never seen before — national entertainment that Michigan has never seen,” Kiezi said.
As for timing, he said, “some things are going to happen soon, and some things are going to take a very long time. Some things might take 20 years overall.”
Kiezi said Oakland Mall will undergo a rebrand and likely get a new name. He has yet to decide on the name, although it could be similar to the current one.