Briarwood Mall, Ann Arbor, MI

Briarwood Mall opened in 1973 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is currently owned by Simon Property Group and GM Pension Trust. Simon Malls manages the site, though. A. Alfred Taubman was the developer of the mall creating room for 120 stores and four anchors. Briarwood Mall is only one floor with 983,000 square feet of space.

Simon Property Group began in 1993, but is an older company. Before Simon Malls the corporation was Melvin Simon and Associates. This original company was formed in 1960 as a shopping center developer in Indiana. Simon now has 387 properties they own or have a partial interest in. These properties total 263 million square feet, with more than 5,000 people working for the company worldwide. Simon Malls are located throughout the world including Europe, Japan, China, and Puerto Rico. In the United States they have malls in 41 out of 50 of the states.

As one of the largest mall operators Simon has many signatures that define their malls like Briarwood. Briarwood Mall has four anchor tenants including Macy's, JC Penney, Sears and Von Maur. During the first decade of the mall Hudson and Lord and Taylor were part of the anchors. These two anchors closed in the 90's. Taubman Centers had to sell their portion of the mall to GM Pension Trusts, who then allowed Simon to purchase a portion in 2007.

Briarwood Mall has a movie theater dating back to 1973. It was a United Artists theater, but was converted to Madstone, Village 7 Theaters, and now Movies at Briarwood under the operation of Teicher Theaters. However, the theater is no longer seven screens, but 4. Three of the screen areas were converted into a Pottery Barn.

Mall hours of operation are Monday to Saturday 10am to 9pm, Sunday 11am to 6pm. Store hours can vary from mall hours, and there are special holiday hours for Thanksgiving and Christmas time. The mall also has special events throughout the year including pictures with Santa.

Stores at Briarwood Mall are Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale, Aldo Shoes, All Star Convenience Center, American Eagle Outfitters, Anny Taylor, Apply, Avon, Baby Gap, Banana Republic, Bath and Body Works, and Body Arts. Additional stores include Body Shop, Brookstone, Borders Express, Buckle, Build a Bear, Bungy Jumper, Champs Sports, Chico's, Claire's, Coach, and Coldwater Creek.

EB Games, Dakota Watch Company, Gap, GNC, Foxy Nails, J Crew, Kay Jewelers, Man Alive, MasterCuts, P&B Christmas Greens, Perfumania, and Radio Shack are other locations for shoppers to enjoy. Throughout the mall and in the food court are a number of food options for guests to the mall. These eateries include Auntie Anne's, Bennigan's, California Pizza, China Wok, Chipotle, Cinnabon, Dippin' Dots, Godiva, Mrs. Field's, and Olga's Kitchen.

The stores and eateries mentioned above are not all of the stores located in the mall. This particular mall has managed to retain their stores through the difficult economic times, still housing the 120 stores it was built for. The mall also has some stores and restaurants surrounding it.