Twelve Oaks Mall, Great Lakes Crossing to reopen Thursday with reduced hours, extra cleaning
More than two months after Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills closed because of the spread of Coronavirus, the mall has announced it will reopen on Thursday, May 28th, with adjusted hours.
Both malls, owned by Taubman Centers, announced on Tuesday they would reopen Thursday at 11 a.m. with adjusted hours. The malls will be open every day at 11 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. They'll be closed at 6 p.m. on Sundays.
According to Taubman Centers, crews will be taking extra steps to ensure everyone is safe when shopping, including cleaning and disinfecting the center throughout the day and after-hours, with a focus on high-touch, high-traffic surfaces, and using a stronger disinfectant when available.
The malls will also encourage shoppers to wear a mask where it's not already mandated by local, state, or federal laws. They also will use signs and decals to help customers with social distancing.
Additionally, hand sanitizer will be provided, play areas will be closed, drinking fountains will be off, furniture will be removed or rearranged to accommodate social distancing, and food trays will be removed from the food court.
The malls encourage shoppers to contact stores and restaurants as their hours may vary.
Taubman Center announced it was closing all of its malls except for two back in March. The original closure was for ten days unless it was required to be closed by state or local government. That was on March 19.
Late last week, Gov. Whitmer lifted several restrictions on Michigan business as cases continue to fall. Under the governor's new executive order, auto dealerships and retail businesses can reopen by appointment, and nonessential medical, dental, and veterinary procedures could also resume.
The executive order also allows for small gatherings of 10 people or less to resume, the first explicit lift on restrictions of gatherings to happen since social distancing went into effect. Whitmer's orders have followed in lockstep with the trends of COVID-19 caseloads in Michigan. On Monday, the state reported 12 more deaths and 202 new cases, daily totals on the lower end of the COVID-19 spectrum.