It's a mall world

By Tucker Mitchell
The Huntersville (NC) Herald

It's not obvious to the layman's eye, but work on the new Northlake Mall just south of Huntersville is proceeding on schedule, says Mall General Manager Phil Morosco, and the Taubman Company's 55-year string of never missing a stated opening date is in no jeopardy.

Taubman is planning for its grand opening on Sept. 15. Morosco said last week during a walking tour of the 1.1 million- square-foot facility that "we're right where we need to be." As is usually the case in large mall projects, the various tenants are at different stages in their building work. Some, like Kay Jewelers and Dick's Sporting Goods, appear to be just days from being open. Others are much further away and Morosco says there's no doubt that all the stores won't be open on Sept. 15.

The mall is about 95 percent leased, Morosco says. Of that number, about 80 to 85 percent will be ready when the mall's doors finally open. "That's fairly typical, too," Morosco says. "Right now is when a lot of your retailers start moving in and that's what's happening here, too."

The two-level mall, with architecture loosely based on textile mill designs, will house up to 150 stores and restaurants. Besides typical mall amenities, it will be home to a large play area and "sports court" where three flatscreen televisions will broadcast sporting events and televsion around the clock.