Former Milwaukee mayor John Norquist never saw the old Muskegon Mall and hasn't been around to watch its demolition over the past six months.

But as the president of the Congress for New Urbanism, Norquist has the perfect term for what was done to Muskegon's historic downtown shopping area.

It was "scraped."

"What's the best thing do to with a dead mall?" Norquist said during a recent visit to West Michigan. "Scrape it."

The fact that Norquist's term fits Muskegon's downtown situation so well shows that Muskegon is not alone. Communities all across the upper Midwest and throughout the country are faced with removing defunct or outdated malls.

What comes after "scraped malls" is what the Chicago-based Congress for New Urbanism is all about.

"New urbanism" is a development philosophy that aims to keep downtown neighborhoods and shopping districts to "human scale," making them walkable and livable.

"At the Congress for New Urbanism, we think sprawl is a communist plot," Norquist said. But the former Democratic big-city mayor shuns government handouts in favor of economic development through private enterprise.

"You can't build a city on pity," he says of a theme in his 1998 book "The Wealth of Cities."

Norquist was at the center of reviving cross-lake ferry service between his city and Muskegon. He now preaches a brand of urban renewal that seems to fit Muskegon's current situation.

Many of the new urbanism ideas are found in the philosophies of the mall property owners Downtown Muskegon Development Corp. and in the community-inspired Imagine Muskegon downtown concept.

Mayor of Milwaukee for nearly 16 years, Norquist spoke of downtown redevelopment last week at a Grand Rapids Metro Council conference at Frederik Meijer Gardens.

"You've got to create main street because that's what is selling right now in retail," Norquist told the Grand Rapids group. "It is all they talked about at the last retail conference ... how to create the urban form.

In retail and commercial development, the new urban forms are called "lifestyle centers."

The changing retail climate has introduced mass merchandise retailers like Wal-Mart and Target to urban communities such as the Midtown Crossing on the northwest side of Milwaukee. The new "urban form" is for multi-story, multi-entrance retailer centers in a main street-style shopping district, Norquist said.

In the old days, they were called "department stores," he said
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Parking is behind the building, in parking structures or below surface. Gone are the seas of parking pavement found in suburban settings, Norquist said.

Wal-Mart has found success in a predominately African-American urban Milwaukee neighborhood. The development has many elements found in a suburban mall but is built to the scale of a historic main street.

"It has a Starbucks," Norquist said Midtown Crossing.

Norquist believes the trend toward suburban malls like Muskegon's The Lakes Mall has ended.

"They've built the last of the 300,000 square-foot, inner-facing malls last year," Norquist said. "It doesn't work anymore with what people want."

What people want are downtown street grids, two-way streets with on-street parking, sidewalks and retail on the first levels of three- or four-story buildings with residences above.

Muskegon Area First President Jim Edmonson was at the Metro Council conference and has heard Norquist speak on several occasions.

"What he presents to us in Muskegon is a tremendous opportunity," said Edmonson, who is working with Downtown Muskegon Development and the city in redeveloping the mall site. "We've 'scraped' the 23 acres. Now we need to engage (new urbanism ideas) more."

City governments must be "new urbanism friendly" for the new downtown developments to become realities, Norquist said. The most critical elements are the city's codes and ordinances.

"Zoning laws in some cities make 'main street' illegal," Norquist said. "Having retail on the first floor and living space above -- such mixed uses are a code violation in many cities."

Norquist never saw Muskegon Mall but he has a feel for Muskegon's situation.

During the 1980s as a Wisconsin state senator, Norquist worked closely with Muskegon state Rep. Mickey Knight on the cross-lake ferry issue. And in 1972, the former Milwaukee mayor spent two months living in Muskegon as the chairman of the West Michigan McGovern for President primary campaign.

Norquist suggests that cities like Muskegon play off their strengths.

"Parts of cities like Muskegon are drop-dead gorgeous," Norquist told The Chronicle. "People are just starting to get it. To convert your downtown into a suburban strip mall just doesn't work."

The former Milwaukee mayor said he is not surprised that Muskegon Mall failed. He said many urban retail centers of the late 1960s and early 1970s have closed. The Congress for New Urbanism calls these dead and dying malls "greyfields."

"Put the streets back in and talk to some creative lifestyle center developers," Norquist suggested for Muskegon. "They'll build in Muskegon. They will create a genuine product for your downtown. It won't be fake."

© 2004 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission