An up-and-coming investor who uses social media to create a buzz about his developments has added a key part of Lakeside Mall to his portfolio of shopping centers.
Troy-based Mario Kiezi, who recently purchased Oakland Mall, has bought the former Sears store at the shopping center in Sterling Heights. He declined to reveal the the cost.
Kiezi said he’s not sure what will become of the two-story, 350,000-square-foot structure that faces Hall Road on Macomb County’s “Golden Mile. But anything is better than a shuttered building, he says.
“Our plans are undetermined at this time,” Kiezi said Monday. “We’re hopeful to have it activated in 2023.”
It is a separate deal than the long-awaited redevelopment of Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights. Out of the Box Ventures, LLC purchased the 120-acre, shopping center at Hall and Schoenherr roads in 2019 for $26.5 million with plans to transform the retail mall into a mixed-use district and community center.
Mark Vanderpool, city manager of Sterling Heights, said an update on the Lakeside property will be given in the near future. In the meantime, he welcomes Kiezi to Sterling Heights and looks forward to discussing the future of the mall area.
“The synergy in that area is very impressive, and reinforces the endless possibilities for a re-envisioned Lakeside, Vanderpool said in an email.
The sale of the Sears building was first reported by Crain’s Detroit, which said Kiezi is considering several first-to-market retailers and restaurants to the area, although no definite plans have been finalized. His company is working with national retailers to see what businesses would the fit the footprint.
“We are only at the beginning of taking the property over,” said Kiezi. “We have the experience to do something meaningful. We will have the community in mind, whatever direction we take.”
Sears Holdings Corp., parent company to the big-box retailer, closed the Lakeside store in 2018. The Sears store has been a key tenant at Lakeside since it opened in 1976.
At the time of its closing, Sterling Heights city officials said the closure presented a potential opportunity to create a viable new use in terms of the existing retail space and the large number of parking space dedicated to Sears’ customers.
According to Crain’s, this is Kiezi’s second former Sears purchase. He bought the 407,000-square-foot Sears store at Oakland Mall at 14 Mile and John R. roads, which is partly being transformed into a Hobby Lobby store. The rest of the mall will undergo a massive remodeling.
Kiezi, a Sterling Heights native and president of the family-owned MKiezi Investments, also owns the Shelby Square shopping center in Shelby Township.
The 31-year-old developer, who told Crain’s that he is a “merchant at heart and a developer by trade,” has a background in retailing, but has branched out into commercial real estate.
He has become something of a rock star on social media, with more than 40,000 TikTok followers watching his short-form videos.
