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Originally Posted by hudkina
But you are wrong on that account. Northland has certainly declined as it was always geared toward Detroit and its residents. However, Meijer, Best Buy, Target, Lowe's, Kroger, The Home Depot, Starbucks, etc. These are all major retail giants that were perfectly fine with opening locations within the city. Even Walmart wants to tear down the old St. Bede's church and build a supercenter. And there are plenty of smaller national retailers that have opened shop as well. Honestly, Southfield never had a major retail presence as it was more heavily geared toward office development, but there are still plenty of retail options.
I don't know what fantasy world you live in, but none of those brands are low-class. They certainly aren't Pottery Barn or Nordstrom, but come on; every middle-class city has these types of shopping centers. If you think that power center is low-end, then 90% of American shopping centers must be low-end to you. The other anchors of Tel-Twelve were Montgomery Ward and Crowley's. Either one was not much better than a J.C. Penny or Kohl's (and honestly before they closed, both brands were in the dumps).
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Retail is good regardless of whether it's discount or high end, but the examples you list are just perpetuating the type of city model of decentralized, auto-centric commercial centers that will ultimately lead to Southfield's decline. Southfield is no stranger to white elephants surrounded by parking.
Take this into context and apply it toward the original story. Will this retail development work? Well, as I pointed out earlier, and as you seem to confirm, Southfield's trajectory has been anything but concentrated retail centers. Even if those proposed department stores could be Targets or Walmarts, those brands would opt for a simpler store format and location that they can have more control over. It's not often the chains you mention opt for non-traditional models unless they are moving into an urban market that they know will make bank on and is worth building or leasing a more expensive store.