[FONT=Verdana]The Fountain Walk outdoor shopping mall in Novi, so named for the mosaic-tiled fountains in its center, is looking to reinvent itself -- partly by doing away with the fountains.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]At tonight's City Council meeting, the new owner of the 737,000-square-foot center, Chicago-based HHT Devco, will seek demolition approval.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]The firm wants to knock down about 60,000 square feet of vacant building space on the center's south side to create a parking lot with 100-plus spaces. More dramatic, the company wants to create a roadway that would replace the pedestrian walkway and connect the mall's south and north ends.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Along with the leasing agent for the center, at least one tenant is happy with the proposal.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]"Basically, anything that's going to improve not only the aesthetics of the center but also its attractiveness to future tenants, I'm in favor" of it, said Eric Swanson, president of American Home Fitness, which has a location on Fountain Walk's semi-deserted north end.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Novi[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]'s Planning Commission approved the plan in June.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]At only 5 years old, the outdoor mall north of I-96 at Novi Road has already fallen into bankruptcy and been resold. Tens of thousands of square feet are empty. Some say the design itself was flawed, making Fountain Walk one of the most-imposing and least-friendly retail centers in the area.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]The area targeted for demolition is between Modern Skate & Surf and Chuck E. Cheese, two businesses that are almost disconnected from the center by the vast spaces between stores. Both would become stand-alone businesses.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]But the demolition is incidental to the point of the plan, said Bruce Reid, a principal in Arthur Hill & Co., part of HHT Devco created specifically for the Fountain Walk redevelopment. [/FONT]