Totem Lake Mall

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Totem Lake Mall


image_width =
caption =
location = Kirkland, Washington
opening_date = 1973-1974
closing_date =
developer =
manager =
owner = Developers Diversified Realty Corporation
number_of_stores = 10
number_of_anchors = 4
floor_area =
floors = 2
parking =
website =

Totem Lake Mall is a small shopping mall in Kirkland, Washington, United States. Originally called the Totem Lake Center, Although the opening of the mall was originally scheduled for April 1st 1973, ["April 1 opening scheduled for Totem Lake Center". East Side Journal, January 10,1973, p. 23] the first stores in the mall opened on May 2nd ["Grand opening held for some at Totem Lake Center", East Side Journal May 9, 1973, P. B1] , and the rest of the lower mall opened on May 31st 1973. ["Totem Center Ribbon Cut". East Side Journal, June 6,1973, P. A6] The mall's Lamonts Anchor tenant/department store was still under construction at the time, and would not open until October 17 of that year. ["Lamonts Opens Today at Totem Lake", East Side Journal, October 17, 1973, p. A1] Construction of the separate Eastern portion of the mall continued into 1974, and the East Mall was opened in July 1974. The adjacent Totem Lake Cinemas opened in 1980. The center consists of an enclosed shopping mall (Lower Mall), and an adjacent strip mall (Upper Mall). Collectively, the two centers are sometimes referred to as "Totem Lake Malls".

Major tenants in the Lower Mall are Cartoys, Ross Dress for Less, Old Country Buffet, Sleep Country USA and Famous Footwear. The last smaller tenant in the Lower Mall is a Christian bookstore, although spaces in the lower mall are occasionally used by short-term and seasonal tenants. The majority of the Lower Mall is completely vacant. The Upper Mall includes Guitar Center, Trader Joe's, and Big 5 Sporting Goods.

It should be noted that the majority of these tenants are only accessible on the outside, shying away from the interior mall concept popular throughout the 1960s-1990s. Other malls in the Seattle - Tacoma area such as Northgate Mall and Lakewood Towne Center have switched to this concept as well, having tenants on the outside as well as the inside.

Troubles

The mall has been struggling financially and facing a "steady loss of tenants" since the early 2000s. [cite news|url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=eastbiz19e&date=20040519|date=May 19, 2004|title=Totem Lake Mall seeing steady loss of tenants|author=Kristina Shevory|publisher=Seattle Times|accessdate=2007-11-25] The mall has been described as a "white elephant". [cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/eastsidenews/2002350800_kirkexperimentstory.html|title=Kirkland at 100 — The Future: A turning point in growth|author=Rachel Tuinstra|publisher=Seattle Times|date=June 29, 2005|accessdate=2007-11-25]

The main mall has many vacant spaces where anchor tenants used to be, such as Lamonts (later Gottschalks). In November 2006, the Rite Aid drugstore moved out of the mall to a free standing location up the street. And Comp USA closed in May 2007. As of July 2007, the mall interior has only two major retailers: Sleep Country USA, and a Christian bookstore. The Old Country Buffet has recently closed also, but for unknown reasons.

Letter scars (where the name of a store was displayed) still clearly indicate where many former stores were, such as Gottschalks, Radio Shack, Rite Aid, Comp USA and Grab Bag (a party supply store). The Sweet Shop (a candy store), still has signs up, despite being closed for a few years. Even a partial logo from Jay Jacobs, a local boutique that closed 10 years ago, is visible. Although the decor of the mall was originally themed in the style of a Native American long house, The current interior decor of the mall is from the 1980s with a newer tile floor from the late 1990s.

ale and Redevelopment

In January 2004, the mall was sold by CalPERS to
Developers Diversified Realty (DDR) for $37 million.DDR has discussed plans to tear it down and redevelop a multistory, mixed residential-retail complex. [cite web|url=http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/Planning/Code_Updates/Totem_Lake_Mall.htm|title=Totem Lake Mall development plans|publisher=City of Kirkland] [cite news|url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=totemlake27e&date=20040127|date=January 27, 2004|title=Housing studied for Totem Lake Mall|author=Nick Perry|publisher=Seattle Times|accessdate=2007-11-25] As of February 2008, the City of Kirkland has not received an application for design review and does not know the planned mix of tenants, although the city did receive a conceptual master plan. [cite web|url=http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/__shared/assets/TLM_DDR040705_Presentation1150.pdf|title=Totem Lake Mall Conceptual Master Plan|date=November 7, 2005|publisher=Developers Diversified Realty]

Anchors

Lower Mall

*Ross Dress For Less (29,172 sq ft.)
*Cartoys
*Old Country Buffet (Closed August, 2008)
*Famous Footwear

Upper Mall

*Big 5 Sporting Goods (12,000 sq ft.)
*Guitar Center (20,216 sq ft.)
*Trader Joe's (9,500 sq ft.)
*Denny's Pet World

Popular Culture

Matt Harding from the Internet Phenomenon, "Where the Hell is Matt?" dance videos, states in his website FAQ:

What’s your least favorite (place)?

"The Totem Lake Shopping Center in Kirkland, Washington. It’s the most depressing place I’ve ever been. I almost didn’t make it out. I think it might be some kind of gateway to the netherworld."

References

External links

* [http://www.ddr.com/site.php?center_id=805&state_path=washington DDR Webpage for the Totem Lake Mall]
* [http://thesledgehammer.wordpress.com/2007/09/02/retail-wasteland-a-tour-of-the-totem-lake-mall/ Blog post with photos of the current state of the mall]