It looks like Santa Claus is coming to town for Christmas once again, as Crossroads Mall in Portage announced Santa will be posted up starting November 30th, and that's not the only thing he's bringing in his sleigh. It looks like there will be 12 businesses opening, 5 of which are permanent.
The event will be held at a rather busy time in the community, from August 3rd through the 6th. This is basically sandwiching the same time Kalamazoo Ribfest will be taking place at Arcadia Creek Festival Place, but there's plenty of time to enjoy it before and after Ribfest
What many people may not know about the Kalamazoo/Portage area is the fact that we were on our way to becoming the Mall capital of Michigan. During the 80’s Kalamazoo had a minimum of 4 malls. Today, there is only one. Is the Crossroads Mall going to be the exception, or will it too join these abandoned and demolished malls of Kalamazoo’s past?
While the day and age of buying almost everything online was yet to come, Crossroads Mall gave people from the surrounding townships a place to shop and entertain. Recently, the Mall has been repurchased by a company based in New York, which leaves me with the question of: What will happen to the Crossroads Mall?