The Lakes Mall, Muskegon, MI

Built in 2001, The Lakes Mall is located in Muskegon, Michigan. It has over sixty different stores and five anchor tenants. This mall is owned and operated under CBL and Associates Properties. CBL is one of the larger real estate investment trusts in the United States, offering more than a hundred malls throughout North America. They were also the developers of the mall.

The mall has over 645,000 square feet of space all in a one story building. Construction on the mall started in 1999, but it took two years for the completion based on the sheer size of the building. When the mall opened it had these anchor stores: Sears, Bed Bath and Beyond, JC Penney, and Younkers. Dick's Sporting Goods moved in three years after the mall was completed.

Before the mall was built there was a small strip mall called Lakeshore Marketplace. The area was for a former outlet site and it did get redeveloped into larger stores with Toys R' Us, Barnes and Nobles, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, and Elder Brothers. There was also Muskegon Mall that opened in 1976, which was no longer a major draw for retail stores due to Grand Rapids malls. It eventually lost the two anchors it had. As a result of the lack of good malls in shoppers' opinions, The Lake Mall development quickly became a great place to shop.

It had enough of the big box stores to be a huge draw for residents. While the outlet mall area still has some of the big stores and restaurants surrounding them, they are more linked with The Lakes Mall. Muskegon Mall was demolished a little while after the new mall was built. The construction helped to bring money back into the local economy, as well.

The Lakes Mall is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 9 pm. The mall is also open on Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm. Events and sales events are held at the mall annually to entice shoppers. Some events include photos with Santa and the Easter Bunny in spring.

With close to a hundred stores in the mall there are plenty of shops for all parties to enjoy. Aeropostale, Alltel, American Eagle Outfitters, Attitudes, Bargain Books, Bath and Body Works, Beautiful Eyes by Farzana, BonWorth, Buckle, Calendar Club, Centennial Wireless, and Charlotte Russe are a few of the stores. Also at the mall are Christopher and Banks, Children's Place, Claire's, CJ Banks, DEB, Di's Hallmark, Fast Jewelers, Finish Line, Foot Locker, Forever Angels, Fred Meyer Jewelers, FYE, GameStop, Gap, GNC, Global Treasures, Gold Recyclers, HeerMee Studios, and Hollister Co.

In the food court are Little Easy China, Sbarro, Stir Fry 88, Brooklyn Bagels, and Mrs. Fields Cookies. Throughout the mall one can find Auntie Anne's, Chuck E. Cheese, Cosmic Candy Company, Maui Wowi, and Sweet Temptations. Compared to other malls the food court is rather small; however, there are plenty of restaurants surrounding the mall which offer shoppers more choices.