I visited Circle Center Mall a couple weeks ago when I was downtown, and figured I'd visit another…read moremall that has been in the news in recent weeks, Lafayette Square. The current management of Lafayette Square claims they're on a path to redevelopment including adding buildings, amenities, and businesses. And they claim they can do it all without tax incentives. So I wanted to stop by and see the progress. All in all, I'd say Lafayette Square is about 70% leased, though it only has one anchor filled and that is a Shopper's World. Compared to Circle Center which is in a central part of town and has a lot more money backing it, I'd say that's pretty good. I didn't take any pictures of this part, but the front part of the mall off of Lafayette Square as well as that specific part of the parking lot probably look better now than they have at all in the past 20 years. As someone who grew up on the northwest side and frequently visited the mall when I was younger, seeing this mall and walking inside bought back a lot of memories. I vividly remember some of the tenants from my youth, and many of the storefronts such as the old bookstore look exactly the same. There is evidence of the mall's former glory days all over, with signs of former tenants that have never been removed, or aging amenities that are still there, but no longer functional. For a fairly dead mall, I'd say it was also fairly clean and I felt safe. There were families with children in the mall, either to grab some food or shop at the several clothing stores. The rest of the property besides the part that faces Lafayette Road though, is in pretty dire condition and I think it'll take a lot of luck to pull off this re-development.

Lafayette Square Mall is a former Simon Mall that was abandoned by the company and over the years…read morehas fallen into something resembling disrepair and a rather sad lack of use. The mall, which is in the area where I grew up, has 1.2 million square feet of shopping space. I'm unclear on just how much of it is actually utilized, but it's definitely not that much. There's 113 acres of land and plenty of parking. There are still signs of the terrific mall it used to be - and, I must say, it's still vastly superior to Washington Square (another Simon abandoned mall). This area is now known as International Marketplace precisely because of the tremendous diversity in terms of residents and businesses. If you can't find ethnic food in this area, you're not actually looking. I believe that Shopper's World is now the only true "big box" store to occupy the mall. The mall has a mixed history in terms of violence, though I'll be honest and say I've never felt unsafe here. That said, even the area I grew up in near 43rd & Moller Road is a much rougher area than it was when I was growing up. The area around Lafayette Square still has a pretty healthy business cycle to it. There's a fairly new Wal-Mart Supercenter not far away. At Home is fairly close by and there are several other major chains within a mile. However, this area really has worked to re-establish itself to celebrate its diversity. The stores in Lafayette Square are mostly independently owned shops now. The same is true for the handful of restaurants. I do believe Philly Cheesesteak is still in here and it's not locally owned. The mall has generally the same layout it used to have, though decor is pretty barebones these days. I used to really love wheeling these wide paths from one end to the other. Growing up, Lafayette Square was my favorite mall. I certainly can't say that anymore, though I think it still has its charm. I believe nearly all of the parking lot businesses are closed now. For a while, a pizza joint was here. Movie theaters existed for a while. Heck, I'm old enough that I remember when there was a photo developing place in the parking lot. Lafayette Square still gets a surprising amount of business. I was by here today and while the anchor spots are empty there were still pockets with quite a few cars and the halls had some definite business. While Finish Line is still listed on their website, I'm pretty sure they left a little while back. Overall, I do think Lafayette Square gets a bit of a bad rap. That said, there's also not a lot of reasons to come here as there's no major national retailers beyond Shoppers World and no major attractions outside the indie shops. While I've always felt safe here, Lafayette Square has definitely had some issues and I'd be hard-pressed to call it family friendly at this point. Still, this place has potential. Here's hoping that one day someone comes in and really uses this space well and it doesn't go the way of Eastgate or Washington Square.