The new owner of the defunct former Shannon Mall appears to be putting in motion its plan to redevelop the property into a business park.
Union City and Atlanta-based industrial developer Rooker filed paperwork this week with a regional planning agency stating that the company wants to build a distribution center at the Union City site. The filing states that plans also call for office space and restaurants.
Shannon Mall, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta, opened in 1980 and was a regional shopping hub for south Fulton County and surrounding communities. But the property, like several regional malls in metro Atlanta, had trouble keeping tenants and engaging shoppers as newer outlets opened, online retailing surged and then the recession sapped consumer spending.
The property closed in late 2010 and was known at the time as Union Station Mall. The property went into receivership in 2011.
It was once owned by Lee Najjar, a developer and commercial landlord and reputedly the “Big Poppa” of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” reality television series.
A Rooker executive did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Rooker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in February that the company planned to market 1.2 million square feet of space to consumer products, e-commerce, technology and other businesses. The company previously said it could eventually include retail, hotel and residential space.
The Development of Regional Impact filing labels the project as industrial and states that it will be built in two phases, one to be completed by December 2015 and a second by the end of 2018.
The existing mall structure will be demolished as part of the project, the filing states.
