The owner of Orchards Mall met the deadline to turn in a mall reinvestment plan for local government officials to review.
The once-thriving, now all-but-closed Orchards Mall is in desperate need of a way forward. Its parking lots are empty and crumbling.
The building is surrounded by thousands of nesting gulls. There’s a post office and one open business where there used to be dozens.
Berrien County Commissioner Chokwe Pitchford wants to help but he needed a plan from the mall’s owner by May 26. He received that plan. Pitchford says on the surface, it has the right elements.
Pitchford says after a review by key stakeholders, the plan’s contents will be shared in the coming days to look at what might need to take place for reinvestment to happen including rezoning, economic development assistance, and community support.
He says ultimately, any plan will require collaboration between the mall’s owners and the government of Benton Township.
