New owner of Oakland Mall has big plans to energize property

New Oakland Mall owner talks about remaking Troy site with focus on family, community

Oakland Mall first opened back in 1968, and to this day has a rate of 90 percent occupancy. We'll see if a fresh concept will boost those numbers even higher.

TROY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A man with a plan says he knows what to do with the Oakland County Mall in Troy. This afternoon he laid out plans to re-purpose the two million-square-foot commercial property.

Thanks to online shopping and next-day delivery, the American mall has been mostly reduced to a relic of the past.

"We feel like this is one of the sleepiest sites in Metro Detroit - and we are going to wake it up," said developer Mario Kiezi.

Kiezi is a self-described young visionary, a real estate developer with lofty ideas for the piece of property just off 1-75 and 14 Mile in Troy. It's a place he's very familiar with, having grown up just five miles away from the mall.

"I used to roam here and I used to go to the arcade, I used to go to GameStop, I used to hang out," he said.

His new concept will be above all, new.

"We are not looking to copy anybody, we are going to be original with our own ideas," Kiezi said.

Ideas that he says will fit into a clear vision.

"Our focus is on families, our focus will be on communities, our focus is the people.," he said.

Oakland Mall first opened back in 1968, and to this day has a rate of 90 percent occupancy. We'll see if a fresh concept will boost those numbers even higher.

All of this is happening fast. The developer just bought the property on Friday and says people can expect changes to begin this year.

As for what it will be called, the developer says he's open to all ideas, you can find him on TikTock.