It is hard to believe that the press -- aside from NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me" -- missed this chestnut buried in a BusinessWeek article published two weeks ago: SmithGroup, the architectural firm that designed Chrysler LLC's headquarters, allegedly had the forethought to design the complex with the possibility it could be converted into a mall without much effort.
The SmithGroup's fact sheet for the 500-acre project, which was completed in 1996, makes no direct reference to such a conversion, but photos featured on the Jalopnik blog clearly show the resemblance in the design work. Additionally, a look at the satellite images of the complex from Google Earth reveals the influence of mall design on the complex.
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So, if it were a mall, how would it compare to, say, the Mall of America, the country's largest retail center? Chrysler's complex is 4.4 million square feet to the Mall of America's 2.5 million square feet. It is worth noting, though, that the Chrysler complex includes an office tower (complete with a 35-foot-tall Pentastar window visible from nearby I-75) that may give it an edge over the Mall of America. That very tower could become the anchor for a hotel at a megamall.
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In fact, when comparing the satellite images of the two complexes, the Chrysler complex's cross-shaped central structure resembles a traditional mall (complete with anchor stores at the end of each point) more than the Mall of America does.
So will anyone with a vision to compete with the Mall of America dare to bid on the complex, should Fiat SpA choose to ditch the Auburn Hills, Mich., locale for something a little more austere? Not likely, given the economic circumstance of the region, notes Autoblog. - Matthew Wurtzel
See story from BusinessWeek
See Chrysler complex fact sheet from SmithGroup
See story from Gawker's Jalopnik
See story from AOL's Autoblog
See Chrysler Dealwatch from TheDeal.com
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