by James Jerold, Independent Writer
I understand there is a vote coming on January 3rd in the City Council concerning the East Hills Mall’s application for a Tax Increment Financing plan. It’s easy to look at the politics of the thing alone, and plenty of individuals, knowledgeable of the details, can speak to this better than I. How our city handles and promotes economic growth is of utmost importance and should be dealt with intelligently and fairly. I am confident that the matter is being examined thoroughly by people competent to do so, and the council’s decision will reflect that. My submission today is on more of an emotional level. I’d like to speak of the mall’s place in our community.
When I was a child growing up in St. Joseph, shopping was a Downtown enterprise. The Regular Joe has done a great job bringing back memories of those times. When the mall opened in the 60’s it represented a leap into the future, and a measure of our community progress. Sure, it was glass, steel and concrete, but it was a lot more as well.
Over the years, the mall became the city’s unofficial meeting place. Our kids sat on Santa’s lap there. Our choirs sang there. Our seniors walked there. We registered for our weddings at Hirsch’s. We saw 70’s blockbusters at the Fox Theater. Who needed an Orange Julius, when we had an Orange Deacon? Our albums and 8-track tapes came from Recordland. Thousands of kids have trick-or-treated there when the weather made Halloween an indoor event.
Car shows, home shows, all used to be there. Most have moved to the Civic Arena, which is fine I guess, but at the mall they were free.
Change is inevitable, and maybe the trend is to the new mega strips. That’s fine, and I don’t begrudge them their success. My hope is that the city and the owners of the mall find a good, working solution that helps it remain viable for the future. Primarily, so it can continue to serve our community, not only as a retail center, but also as the largest indoor meeting place in town.
Lastly, I don’t know what threats have been made that the mall would close if this measure isn’t passed, but this would be a sorry thing indeed. Anyone who questions this should drive past a boarded up mall in KC, and imagine the same thing at St. Joseph’s busiest intersection.
Filed under: Investing in St. Joe |