Old World Mall Closing In Month

Old World Mall
In Month

BY JIM NORMAN
Business Reporter '

Lansing promoter Alan H. Ginsburg
has notified merchant tenants at his

Oki World Village Mall hero he is ter-
mer Rink's discount store are report-
^Ji,. ,_..;„.- ... ,.B...,r,j^g g tenant corpo-

<«•«

i mall concept alive
;i; ii' Christmas buying
season.

Many merchants have reportedly
'"ct laid in hefty stocks of Christmas
iiry and fear being "left out in

- less than a month
nieed to step down

The r
after G.

;<-a»iii»^yww

from active management of the mal!
and turn over operations to loca!
manager John Ladd, according ti;

merchants interviewed Saturday
night.

Most merchants interviewed were
bitter ^ ' ^."i been
a "(:'i :."

Bui un-.y tin-' . n- mini-
mail concept hei • red with
proper promotiiii iinnunity
support.

The more cynical retailers ;i > I ;

World think its prom-'"" i
intended to operate mor.

They cite high lease ' i ~.s

;ir mail
.1;;,. ayrnent
of Oi

In'.
fered inec;

chants to l

cant shops ,; •• : ... . ' iwo

weeks ago he relented to persistent

retail renter demands for longer

hours

No :id is open Tuesday-
Satui :!i. to 9 p.m. and Sun-
day noon to 6 p.m.

The 75,000-square-foot mini-mall
opened last Nov. - ' '
Shopping Center
of about 80 per ^•
228 booth spaces ,-

Currently the i

OCCllpr ""!•• "•' -!Jtl,..>--a.

Mi lue to poor manage-
merii 'alization and a shurl-
age of iir. . . low
traffic fnn an"
even greaie ..._..„..„ ..., .,..^yers
to spend money at Old World.

But many other shop owners would
return unrir- ;ll management,
says Gloi'!: owner of the
RSVPskii

Thr il shops has been
steac ;'ly summer but ac-
celei'un.n i,..., past WPP'- "">h •'••.';'
shops in nine spaces p
cording to Steven Totii
^ /: .ii'n.

,'-: merchants, some

. may escr
markelpla<
ing to .T
with
Gate

.'d-
alamenie, proprietor
etchen of the Country

But in the meantime Gin--'
r. reported behind in many of i

including utilities and rent, i.u r-iiiii
' Arbor Trust Co., which manages
; Westgate.

, Difficulty in gettini: me.
[ month's-rent security cli ied
•'merchants to use their i_-,- ..„.- yay
rent in recent months.

But Richard L. LeMaster, owner of
the Teacher's Pi ' 'ic's
been given a sex i ice
for using his depir nt.
"ns it's retaliation for his
s to state lawmakers and
UK- anuiney general's office about
Ginsburg's alleged misuse of funds.

In particular, merchants are criti-
cal " ; sing dol-
lars moth per
monl... „...-,-„.-, -.-.„ n ..,,„.isible for
spending that money until a month
ago when merchants demanded con-
trol after being cut off from news?;'
per ads due to nonpayment of bills '
Ginsburg.

I "This has hurt a lot of little peo-
. pie," says Bob Janus, owner of a pic-
ture framing shop at Old World.

A parting irony: The Jaycees are
using a vacant part of the Old World /
building for their annuiii ;'•.'-
Halloween haunted house.