infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Fairlane Town Center
caption =
location = Dearborn, Michigan, USA
opening_date = 1976
developer = A. Alfred Taubman
manager = Taubman Centers
owner = Taubman Centers
number_of_stores = 155+
number_of_anchors = 4
floor_area = 1.5 million ft²
Macy's - 240,000 ft²
Sears - 244,000 ft²
JC Penney - 200,000 ft²
Vacancy - 122,000 ft²
Mall tenants - 623,000 ft²
floors = 2 - 3
website = http://www.shopfairlane.com/
parking = 8,270 spaces
Fairlane Town Center is a super-regional shopping mall in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan. The mall is one of three super-regional Taubman malls built in the Detroit metro area in the 1970's, the other two being Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights. Its anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, and Sears. The mall includes an AMC Theatres multiplex, as well as H&M, Steve & Barry's, DSW Shoe Warehouse and Bally Total Fitness among other major stores. The mall features a large food court and several other eateries. In 2007, the mall completed a major three year renovation project.[Youseff, Jennifer (May 19, 2007). Major renovation at Fairlane brings new retailers, restaurants. Business, "The Detroit News".] ]History
Developed by A. Alfred Taubman, Fairlane Town Center opened on March 1, 1976. The mall's original anchor stores included Hudson's, JCPenney, and Sears; additional features included an ice skating rink, a movie theater, as well as an elevated monorail car that shuttled shoppers between the mall and the nearby Hyatt Regency Hotel. Lord & Taylor was also added in 1978. Saks Fifth Avenue opened at the mall in 1980. A United Artists theater was added in the early 1980s. It was closed and demolished in the late 1990s. A Star Theatre multiplex was added in 1999. Also in 1999 a Lifestyle Cafe (food court) was added. In 2006 AMC merged with Star and it became AMC Star. The mall's ice rink was demolished upon Lord & Taylor's arrival. Saks Fifth Avenue opened Off 5th Outlet in the late 1990s.
Hudson's adopted the Marshall Field's name in 2001 shortly before the chain was acquired by May Company and again in 2005 by Federated Department Stores; in 2006, the store was converted to Macy's along with all other Marshall Field's stores in Michigan. Lord & Taylor closed in 2006 and is currently vacant. As a result of this closure, the mall erected a wall in the middle of this wing.
In 2007, the mall completed a major three year renovation project.[Youseff, Jennifer (May 19, 2007). Major renovation at Fairlane brings new retailers, restaurants. Business, "The Detroit News".] The mall secured H&M as an anchor tenant in 2007. The same year, Off Fifth closed its outlet store at the mall and was demolished in 2008 for a new wing featuring restaurants and entertainment venues. [cite web |url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070823/BUSINESS06/70823069/1049/SPORTS01 |title=Saks Off 5th to leave Fairlane Town Center |accessdate=2007-08-23 |last=Guest |first=Greta |authorlink=Greta Guest |date=2007-08-23 |format=html |work=Detroit Free Press] ]Interior and Design
The interior of the Fairlane Town Center is unique and innovative following the themes of other Taubman shopping centers.
The internal pedestrian network consists of two floors throught most of the mall, and a third level designed into the middle of the center courts. The middle level design is perhaps one of the most unusual designs of the mall, sharing the concept with Woodfield Mall. One side of the center of the mall is lower, and a middle level is formed between the upper and lower levels, thus creating a three level design in the center courts while maintaining a two level design throughout the rest of the mall. Due to the original ACT monorail system, there are dual interior courts rather than a single grand court. The south central court was originally designed as an activity center, with a stage and seating areas, and the north central court was designed as the location of a large terraced fountain.
Each anchor court features a large sculpture and seating areas. The interior features terrazzo-tiled flooring, wood trimmed glass railings, and white walls and ceilings articulated with geometric, hexegon shaped skylights featuring three hallogen lights mounted on the apex of each dome. Access among the three retail levels is provided by a complex network stairs, ramps, escalators, and two lighted "octa-lift" elevators each located in the center of the mall.
Notes
References and further reading
*Cite book|author=Cantor, George|title=Detroit: An Insiders Guide to Michigan|year=2005|publisher=University of Michigan Press|id=ISBN 0472030922
*Cite book | author=Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A.| title=Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition | year= 1980| publisher= Wayne State University Press| id = ISBN 0-8143-1651-4
External links
* [http://www.shopfairlane.com official Fairlane Town Center website]
* [http://www.taubman.com/leasing/6.html Developer Taubman website - Information for Fairlane Town Center]
* [http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/2006/12/fairlane-town-center.html]
