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Mall 'No Fairy Tale World This Time'

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Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
August
Year
1977
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

D.2 " i.- \ri> .\ .. Wednesday, August 10.1977

Lease Activity Jumps As Old World Refugees Return. News'

Mall Wo Fairy Tale
World This ^

By Jim Normari

BUSINESS-LABOR REPORTER

Cautious merchant refugees are
slowly emigrating back into the Old
World Village Mall at the Westgate
Snoppmg Center;'""

"This is no fairy tale world this
time," says Marie Schmidt, whose
wicker furniture shop was among the
first former tenants to return.

Sch,:., lost $10,000 in
noli '•:(.' former Old
Work: : , , ss-d just before
Christmas last year.

BTT SI?T' STAYF" in business by
'mndtree shop-
. Township and
.ugh to think about a
•ie Old World.
' 11 Donald Van Curler
and Raymond Gelain, mayor of St.
Clair, have taken over the 70,000-
square-foot former Rink's discount
store at Westgate.

, They've opened a True-Value hard-
| ware store and D
fast-food restaur:

for about 40 small; ;;

Schmidt says the new owners are
carefully screening mini-mail tenants
to make sure they are serious about
operating a shop 73 hours a week and
keeping it well stocked.

THE FORMER OLD World, which

"Today's-

Busmess

operated about one year under Lan-
sing promoter Alan H. Ginsburg, was
open less than half those hours — a
big point of contention among shop
owners.

Schmidt's Country Gate wicker shop
has been open about two weeks now
and "We're satisfied with the recep-
tion, "she says.

Some days have gone without a sin-
gle "^ '!,;• • • • . • ... • -""

Kay Hn . with her hus-
band Dai Magic Shoppe,
says she's aiso pleased with sales so
far in their small booth, open about a
week.

•THE HOURS are long but they're

'.i»rthit."shesays.

Demand for booth space has picked
up sharply since the mini-mall offi-
^•'i ; operations this
"i -irk Moorehead,
a ii ;' -r with Van Cur-
ler's Flying Dutchman Management
Co.

^SBS.-0

He claims several major retail
chains have inquired about booth
space, which rents for considerably
less than other shopping center space
in this area.

Small booths cost $1.50 per square
foot per month, including utilities, but
larger spaces go for as little as 83
cents a square foot a month.

That's about 10 per cent more than
Ginsburg was charging but slightly
less net cost to the merchant because
there are no additional promotion fees
being collected.

Among the prospective tenants ex-
pected to open shops soon at Old
World is a group planning a minia-
ture golf course.