Old World Mall To Close Sunday

The Old World ends Sunday.
That's when Lansing promoter Alan
H. Ginsburg plans to lock the doors on
his financially-troubled mini-mall at
the Wcstgate Shopping Center.

A handful of remaining small busi-
rfpsscs renting stall space in the year-
m.d mall are finishing up close-out or
wioving sales today and tomorrow, ac-
cording to Old World manager John
Ladd.

He says Ginsburg will shut the
7((.000-square-foot former Rink's dis-
count store Sunday, one month after
notifying shopkeepers he -would not
continue their leases after Nov. 15.

Ginsburg is behind- in his rent on
the building, according to w official

of Ann Arbor Trust Co. which man-
ages Westgate.

Negotiations have been under way
with the Washtenaw County Depart-
•Tionr of Social Services to occin . '; i
iniilding after Jan. 1.

Ladd says merchants have tried
hard to find their own major tenant to
preserve the retail mini-mail, but as

of today those efforts have been un-
successful.

"Earlier this week I would have
said we'd had a one in 10 chance of
saving it," says Ladd. "Now, I don't
know."

There were 58 businesses operating
al Old World in mid-October ' "1-
ters telling of the lease halt v> nt
out by Ginsburg.

The number has dwindled steadily
to just a handful of small enterprises
as proprietors have sought new sites
or just gone out of business.

Many merchants contacted in Octo-
ber had just laid in their Christmas
inventories and have faced significant
liquidation losses, fl