It could have been a scene from an earlier era: This past March, thousands of shoppers flocked to the grand opening of a two-level, 122,000-square-foot Von Maur department store at The Village of Rochester Hills, an outdoor lifestyle center in Detroit’s northern suburbs. Replete with antiques, original artwork, a grand piano and traditional departments for specialty apparel, shoes, accessories and gifts, the new Von Maur replaced a Carson’s that had gone dark after the 2018 bankruptcy filing of its parent, The Bon-Ton Stores Inc.

At a time when many landlords are subdividing or even leveling such spaces, how did Robert B. Aikens & Associates land a full-fledged department store?

According to vice chair Robert Bruce Aikens Jr., RBA had started looking for replacement ideas in 2017 when it became clear that The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., then owner of Carson’s and multiple other department store nameplates, was in trouble. “We were in discussions with Von Maur,” Aikens said, “but we were also looking at tearing down the anchor box and putting in a theater, multifamily apartments, restaurants and other redevelopment options.”

Those uses would have been perfectly consistent with the main street feel of The Village of Rochester Hills, which boasts more than 50 retailers and restaurants on both sides of a tree-lined streetscape. But Von Maur saw an opportunity at the 375,000-square-foot, Whole Foods-anchored lifestyle center. The family-owned company was already familiar with Michigan: It operates a store at Laurel Park Place on the west side of Detroit’s northern suburbs in Livonia and, according to Aikens, was attracted to the strong retail demographics in northern Oakland County, which supports Somerset Collection and the Birmingham shopping district, in addition to The Village. “We made the deal with Von Maur in the fall of 2019,” he said. “They were scheduled to open late 2020 but delayed due to the pandemic.”

Suburban Detroit: Full Circle

For Aikens, RBA’s success in landing Von Maur highlights the reality that suburban Detroit, after years of department store bankruptcy filings and closures, has come full circle.

Boutique department stores similar to Von Maur had served the northern Detroit suburbs for decades, including Jacobson’s in the 1970s and ’80s and Parisian, which was a tenant in The Village when the center opened in 2002. Shuttered Summit Place Mall had offered Macy’s, JCPenney, Kohl’s and Sears, and the vacuum worsened with department store vacancies at both Lakeside Mall in Sterling Heights and The Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township, Aikens said. “Where there were once over 10 department stores in this northern Detroit market, now there are very few, so the environment has gotten a lot healthier for a boutique, unique department store like Von Maur to join a center like The Village.”

The new store was part of Von Maur’s disciplined growth over the past decade or so. Based in Davenport, Iowa, the 150-year-old company operates 37 stores in 15 states. The list includes recently opened locations in Illinois’ Orland Square and Kentwood, Michigan’s Woodland Mall. Another location is under construction at Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Leasing Bump

So far, Von Maur’s location at The Village shows every sign of fulfilling the decades-old role of a traditional anchor department store, said RBA senior director of leasing Margaux Keusch. The packed grand opening was the first sign of its popularity in the region, she said. “We’re an outdoor center and it was a cold, dreary, rainy Michigan day, but the traffic was unreal. Cars were lined up outside of the center, and every parking space was filled.”

Von Maur enjoys strong brand recognition in Michigan and around the Midwest. Its interest-free charge card, free gift wrapping and focus on customer service are part of the appeal. “It’s a massive draw from all over,” Keusch said. “People love the brand. At our grand opening, people showed up wearing shirts that said: ‘I Followed My Heart and It Led Me to Von Maur.’”

The new department store has been a factor in The Village’s double-digit increase in foot traffic since the March grand opening, Keusch added. “Every time I am over at the center, which is pretty frequently, everyone is talking about Von Maur. Just this Saturday, I was at P.F. Chang’s having cocktails, and every person who walked in had a Von Maur bag.”

Ever since announcing the Von Maur opening in 2019, RBA has seen an uptick in leasing activity, Keusch said. Deals signed since then include American Eagle, Aerie, Sephora, Sundance, Pandora jewelry, LensCrafters, Madison Reed, Shake Shack, BurgerFi, Lovesac, Busted Bra Shop, YogaSix, Pilates studio Solidcore, and Dry Goods, a boutique also owned by Von Maur. “Soma is under construction,” Keusch noted, and “both Evereve and Pottery Barn are also expanding their stores at The Village.”

Meanwhile, the new department store adds to the experience at the property. “It’s a gorgeous, brand-new store,” Keusch said. “They redid everything top to bottom and invested a significant amount of capital in the design.” The department store also gives shoppers at The Village some new options in bad weather. “People can go and spend a good amount of time shopping in a warm environment on a cold, rainy Michigan day,” Keusch said.

For Aikens, the store brings back fond memories of being a young man in the 1970s and going with his mother to Jacobson’s at Great Oaks Mall in Rochester. That’s where she bought him his first suit. “That’s just something that I have always remembered, and I hope Von Maur will give that same type of experience to the families and consumers in our marketplace, as well.”