Somerset Collection
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Somerset Collection is a superregional, luxury shopping mall, located in Metro Detroit, in Troy, Michigan with more than 180 specialty stores. Somerset Collection, developed, managed, and co-owned[1] by The Forbes Company, is among the most profitable malls in the United States not owned by a real estate investment trust.[2] Out of the 100 most profitable malls, 76 are owned by real estate investment trusts.[2]
The Grand Court at Somerset North incorporates a full glass dome | |
| Location | Troy, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°33′41″N 83°11′2″W / 42.56139°N 83.18389°WCoordinates: 42°33′41″N 83°11′2″W / 42.56139°N 83.18389°W |
| Address | 2800 W. Big Beaver |
| Opening date | 1969 (Somerset Mall) 1992 (Somerset South) 1996 (Somerset North) |
| Developer | Forbes/Cohen |
| Management | The Forbes Company |
| Owner | The Forbes Company & Frankel Associates |
| Architect | JPRA Architects Peterhansrea Designs |
| No. of stores and services | 160 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,450,000 sq ft (134,700 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (Somerset South) 3 (Somerset North and all anchors) |
| Parking | 7,000 spaces Surface parking, covered parking, and valet. |
| Public transit access | SMART 460, 461, 780 |
| Website | thesomersetcollection |
History
In 1969, Saks Fifth Avenue opened a stand-alone store on Big Beaver Road in Troy, an affluent suburb 16 miles north of downtown Detroit. A one-floor upscale "Somerset Mall" designed by Louis G. Redstone Associates, was built onto the existing Saks, anchored by it and a new Bonwit Teller.[3] Thirty five additional stores opened, including I. Miller, Abercrombie & Fitch, Mark Cross, and FAO Schwarz.[4]
Bonwit Teller significantly renovated its store in 1988, only to close in 1990 after the chain went bankrupt. In 1991-1992 the center was renamed Somerset Collection, a second level was added, and Neiman Marcus opened a store on the site of the razed Bonwit Teller. Completed in August 1992, Saks was renovated and expanded with more luxury stores, like Tiffany's, opening their doors.[5]
Following the success of the revamped mall, co-owners Forbes/Cohen Properties and Frankel Associates opened a new three-story $30,000,000
, 940,000 sq ft expansion[6] across from Somerset Mall on August 11, 1996, designed by JPRA Architects.
Michigan's first Nordstrom and a Hudson's (converted to Marshall Field's and then Macy's) anchored the three-story expansion, named Somerset North. When Marshall Fields was converted to Macy's in 2006, Somerset became one of only three malls in the country to host all four department stores.[7]
Connecting the two malls is a 700 ft enclosed bridge known as the "Skywalk" over Big Beaver Road. The enclosed, climate-controlled skybridge was one of the first of its kind in the country, featuring moving walks to move shoppers between Somerset Collection South and Somerset Collection North.
In 2004, Somerset South, the original part of the Collection, was renovated. The mall features lighting[8] by Paul Gregory (Focus Lighting), a continuous skylight, glass elevators, and fountains designed by WET. Somerset Collection includes several notable sculptures, including a Finnish Sorvikivi Floating Stone fountain.[9] Mall at Millenia, in Orlando, Florida, also designed by JPRA Architects, was based on Somerset Collection and is similar in design. Neither mall has kiosks.
In December 2009, the Forbes Company acquired an adjacent site on which an open-air mixed-use development known as the Pavilions of Troy was proposed. Although plans were approved, the project did not move forward, and no further plans were announced.[10]
In 2012, calling it "strategic capital investments", Saks renovated its store after it identified the Somerset location as having "high growth potential".[11]
In 2016, Chick-fil-A opened a location in the Peacock Cafe food court,[12] the first location in Metro Detroit that was not at the food court of a college campus or airport.
In 2017, Zara opened its first store in Michigan on the first and second floors of the Macy's wing.[13]
While the Collection was temporarily shuttered due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Chick-fil-A operated a massive 18-wheeler mobile drive-thru truck in the otherwise empty Collection parking lot near Macy's.[14]
Shops and restaurants
The Somerset Collection contains 1,450,000 sq ft (134,700 m2) of gross leasable area with over 180 stores.[4] The four department store anchors are: Nordstrom (240,000 sq ft) and Macy's (300,000 sq ft) in Somerset North, and Neiman Marcus (141,000 sq ft) and Saks Fifth Avenue (160,000 sq ft) in Somerset South.[4]
The third level of the Somerset Collection North features a food court called The Peacock Cafes, featuring 10 restaurants and seating for 650 customers.
Services
Somerset provides valet parking and a full-service concierge staff. The concierge service includes a variety of services such as gift wrapping, stroller and wheelchair rental.[15] Wi-Fi access is available in the Peacock Cafe, in addition to Wi-Fi access inside the Macy's and other stores.
Special events
Special events are hosted at Somerset Collection year-round. The layout includes stages for the performing arts. The special events include yoga classes, special savings, Santa visits during the Christmas season, fashion shows, and other events sponsored by the Collection and individual stores.
In 2011, the Forbes Company debuted a group of pop-up mini-shops called Somerset Collection CityLoft in Downtown Detroit, specifically at the Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District, which had been a major Detroit shopping district. Various stores from Somerset have opened pop up shops on Merchant's Row in the 1200 to 1400 block of Woodward Avenue, generally open the last Thursday to Saturday of the month from June through August, and occasionally September.[16] In 2012 this concept was extended to the Christmas season, with CityLoft Holiday "Yappy" Hour.[17]
Gallery
Somerset South at Neiman Marcus
View from Somerset North's Peacock Cafe toward Somerset South
Somerset Collection North sign
Sculpture at Somerset South
One of the two Granite Sorvikivi Floating Stone spheres at Somerset Collection North.
See also
Notes
- ^ "The Forbes Company - Home". The Forbes Company. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ a b Groover, Joel (June 1, 2004).Privacy Please 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retail Traffic Penton Media. Retrieved on September 3, 2007.
- ^ Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c "Somerset Collection - About Us - Somerset Collection". Somerset Collection.
- ^ About Somerset: History and Information.The Somerset Collection. Retrieved on October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Somerset Collection Vertical Expansion - Clark Construction Company". clarkcc.com. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "Saks Fifth Avenue to leave Denver's Cherry Creek mall after 20 years". denverpost.com. 5 January 2011.
- ^ "IESNYC - Home Page". iesnyc.org.
- ^ Floating Granite Ball Fountain Somerset Mall, retrieved 2022-12-13
- ^ "Economic Stars Out of Alignment for Multiuse Developments". Crain's Detroit Business. crainsdetroit.com. 19 March 2010.
- ^ "Saks Incorporated Announces Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended February 2, 2013". Business Wire. 26 February 2013.
- ^ "Peacock Cafe in Troy - Restaurant reviews". Restaurant Guru. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "Michigan's first Zara store is open in Troy and it's pretty great".
- ^ "Chicken fans line up for Chick-fil-A's mobile drive-thru at Somerset". The Detroit News. March 25, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Concierge Services". Somerset Collection. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ "Somerset Collection's CityLoft Returns to Downtown Detroit with 40 Brands". visitdetroit.com.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2013-09-05. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
References and further reading
- Cantor, George (2005). Detroit: An Insiders Guide to Michigan. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-03092-2.
- Garvin, Alexander (2002). The American City: What Works What Doesn't (2nd Ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-137367-8.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Urban Land Institute (1994). ULI Market Profiles. Urban Land Institute.