By R.J. King

The Detroit News

NOVI -- Shoppers, get your skateboards, in-line skates and stunt bicycles ready.
    The state's first private skatepark, offering ramps, rails, steps and dips, will be part of a novel $140-million retail, restaurant and entertainment center in Novi called Fountain Walk. The 77-acre outdoor mall, which brings several new stores to Michigan, will open in October at Interstate 96 and Novi Road.
    Offering about 40 retailers, Fountain Walk combines the attributes of indoor and outdoor malls in one setting. Stores and eateries will line brick-paved roads and sidewalks amid a central fountain, landscaping treatments and benches.
    What developers call a "lifestyle center," the 737,000-square-foot facility is one of the first in the country to open in a four-season climate. Introduced three years ago as a way to entice shoppers bored with indoor malls, lifestyle centers have proven to be successful.
   " Every lifestyle center I've seen has been a hit, but you need a great location and an interesting blend of new merchants and restaurants," said Jim Bieri, president of Bieri & Associates Inc., a retail consulting firm in Detroit. "If the retailers are the same as those in area malls, you're headed for a disaster.
   " I believe Fountain Walk will be a hit," he said, comparing the new Novi mall to similar centers in Atlanta, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, Fla.
    The 46,000-square-foot skatepark, to be operated by VANS, a national retailer selling sports apparel and equipment, will have large roll-up doors so that skaters, boarders and bikers can practice in both indoor and outdoor environments.
    In addition to VANS, other retailers at Fountain Walk that will be new to Michigan are Jillians, a lively bar and restaurant loaded with video games and other interactive activities; Galyans, an upscale sporting goods store with a large mountain-climbing wall, and the Improv Comedy Store.
    Other merchants making their Michigan debut are Industrial Ride, a large store offering sports apparel, music and equipment, and Fine Grove Sports Bar and Putting Edge, a golf store. New eateries include Chevy's, which offers Mexican fare; Todai, a Japanese restaurant, and Damon's House of Ribs.
   " We came to Fountain Walk because Detroit has one of the strongest retail markets in the country," said Denis Werner, chief executive of Industrial Ride, which also is moving its headquarters from Phoenix to Detroit. "Our store will have everything from snow boards to skateboards. We even have a DJ booth for people who want to give their music a spin."
    Other tenants at Fountain Walk include Cinema Hollywood, which will offer 18 screens and 4,000 seats; The Great Indoors, a residential renovation store by Sears Roebuck & Co.; Linen Barn; Eye Candy; Harmony House; Casual Corner and Coffee Beanery.
    The mix of retail and entertainment offerings is designed to keep customers at Fountain Walk longer.
   " The average stay at a lifestyle center is four hours, which is double that of a traditional mall," said Michael Lutton, president of PLC Commercial, a retail development firm in Newport Beach, Calif., which owns Fountain Walk with Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust in Southfield.
   " To get to four hours, you need plenty of activities that aren't around a given area, and we feel confident with the active merchants, restaurants and entertainment uses we've brought in."
    Joining PLC Commercial and Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust are two local leasing agents -- Taubman Co., which owns the nearby Twelve Oaks Mall, and Retail Resource Group Inc. in Bingham Farms.
You can reach R.J. King at (313) 222-2504 or rjking@detnews.com.

Daniel Mears/
The Detroit News

The 77-acre outdoor mall, called Fountain Walk, is expected to open in October (2001) at Interstate 96 and Novi Road.