Laurel Commons: A Ghost Town in a White Elephant

--------------------------------------------------------------------

While I had a moment waiting for a bus today, I ventured into the local mall, out of curiosity.

I don't know why it's still open, but really...they need to start on this renovation project, and soon, or just close the place and get rid of it already.  Here's what is in the Laurel Commons (nee Mall) as of this morning: A Macy's, Burlington Coat Factory, Payless Shoes, GNC, a Post Office, an ATM and soda machines...and not much else worth talking about.  That's it.  Seriously.

Did I mention that there's nothing to eat inside?  Auntie Anne's, which was open three months ago, is gone.  The single retailer in the food court--a small sub and sandwich shop--wasn't open when I was in there, and I'm thinking they're gone, too.  Months ago, there were two--a Caribbean eatery was there, but closed down literally a month after it opened.  This food court was once the home of McDonald's, Taco Bell, Subway, Sbarro, and Boardwalk Fries, and now you can't even sell a Esskay hot dog in the place.

I spoke to a security guard there, and he explained to me that the second level of the mall may close down soon.  The second-lever parking deck has been closed for five years.  The renovation plan has been tied up and delayed for over three years.  The mall itself is literally a giant white elephant along U.S. Route 1, and inside, it is a cadaver of what it used to be.  It's supposed to have been be renovated into this vibrant modern-day outdoor shopping town, with a big bookstore, and a new movie theater, which this town hasn't had since 1998, when Hoyt's closed down during the Laurel Lakes Shopping Center renovation into a straight-front strip center.  That was completed in 2001, and has done spectacular business since.

That was supposed to be the vision for the new shopping center.  Instead, this...this...old building is still there, as are the empty top level parking decks, and the Wards Auto Center (closed for an entire decade, and not touched once), and the old marquee which they haven't used for at least three years.  It just looks old and tired and it's a depressing sight.  And something needs to be done about it.  

The website for the place says "Bright skies are in our forecast."

The weather there right now indicates calm, cold and cloudy conditions, and nothing in that forecast indicates whether those conditions will be improving anytime soon.