The Village of Rochester Hills
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA lifestyle shopping center in Rochester Hills, Michigan, serving the northern Detroit metropolitan area.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Village of Rochester Hills is an open-air lifestyle shopping center in Rochester Hills, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit. It occupies the northeastern corner of Walton Boulevard and Adams Road and was developed as a replacement for Meadowbrook Village Mall, a small enclosed shopping mall that had opened on the site in 1976. The center is organized around a main-street-style environment rather than a conventional enclosed-mall layout, combining department-store, grocery, specialty retail, dining, and service uses. The earlier Meadowbrook Village Mall struggled to attract major national retailers. During the mid-1980s and 1990s, its owners, Robert B. Aikens & Associates, made unsuccessful efforts to secure stronger chain-store representation. In 1996, the owners chose to demolish the existing mall and redevelop the property as a lifestyle center. The proposed replacement was planned around a Parisian department store and a Farmer Jack Food Emporium supermarket, with smaller stores arranged along pedestrian-oriented streets. The Village of Rochester Hills opened on September 20, 2002, with more than 50 inline tenants. At launch, it was described as the Detroit area's first lifestyle center. Its initial tenant mix included Parisian, Farmer Jack, Talbots, and Coldwater Creek, among other specialty retailers. The center attracted attention for its large Talbots location and for hosting Michigan's first Coldwater Creek store. Parisian's opening also helped make the Detroit market one of the department-store chain's strongest markets at the time. The tenant mix changed as retail companies and store formats evolved. Farmer Jack closed its final stores in 2007 after its parent company, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, exited the Detroit market. Whole Foods Market subsequently moved from an existing local store into the former Farmer Jack building, preserving a major grocery presence at the center. Parisian's location later became a Carson's store in January 2013. Carson's closed in the wake of its owner's financial difficulties. In April 2018, it was announced that the store would shutter after the company was unable to reach new terms addressing its long-term debt. In 2019, Von Maur announced plans to substantially renovate and reuse the former department-store structure. The replacement was initially expected to open in fall 2020, but the project was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Von Maur ultimately opened on March 19, 2022, becoming the retailer's fourth Michigan location. The center also continued to add or replace specialty tenants. Barnes & Noble opened a new store at The Village of Rochester Hills in April 2019. Major retailers associated with the center include Von Maur, Whole Foods Market, Williams Sonoma, Talbots, Banana Republic, Chico's, J.Jill, Pottery Barn, and Barnes & Noble. Its positioning is based on an upscale, pedestrian-friendly shopping environment that combines national lifestyle and specialty brands with everyday grocery and service offerings. The center remains an active retail destination in the Rochester Hills area, although its exact ownership, management structure, tenant count, and current store roster are not established by the supplied reference material.
History
The property at the northeastern corner of Walton Boulevard and Adams Road in Rochester Hills was initially occupied by Meadowbrook Village Mall. Built in 1976, Meadowbrook was a relatively small enclosed shopping mall without major anchor stores. Frank's Nursery & Crafts was its largest tenant. From the mid-1980s onward, the mall's owners, Robert B. Aikens & Associates, tried to attract national chain retailers but were unable to secure the tenant base needed to reposition the property successfully. In 1996, the owners decided to replace Meadowbrook Village Mall with a lifestyle-center development. The planned format used a pedestrian-oriented main street and outdoor storefronts rather than the enclosed-corridor design of the former mall. Parisian was selected as a department-store anchor and Farmer Jack Food Emporium as the grocery anchor. The redevelopment was intended to serve a broader regional market while providing a more upscale and contemporary retail setting. The Village of Rochester Hills opened on September 20, 2002. It debuted with more than 50 inline tenants and was characterized as the first lifestyle center in the Detroit area. Its opening tenant roster included Parisian, Farmer Jack, Talbots, and Coldwater Creek. The Talbots location was reported as the largest in Michigan at the time, while the Coldwater Creek store was the chain's first in the state. Parisian's performance at the new center also helped the Detroit market rank among the department-store chain's most profitable markets. Retail changes gradually altered the original tenant mix. Farmer Jack closed its last stores in 2007 after its parent company, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, decided to leave the Detroit market. Whole Foods Market later relocated from an existing store into the former Farmer Jack building, retaining grocery shopping as part of the center's offer. Parisian was converted to Carson's in January 2013. Carson's later became part of a wider retail-financial crisis. On April 18, 2018, the closure of the Rochester Hills store was announced after the retailer was unable to agree on new terms that would address its established long-term debt. The vacant department-store building was subsequently targeted for reuse. In 2019, Von Maur announced a major overhaul of the structure and plans to open its fourth Michigan store there. The opening was originally planned for fall 2020, but the project was delayed for roughly a year and a half during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new Von Maur store opened on March 19, 2022. The center continued to expand its specialty-retail presence during this period. Barnes & Noble opened a new store in April 2019. The broader tenant mix has included national brands such as Whole Foods Market, Williams Sonoma, Talbots, Banana Republic, Chico's, J.Jill, and Pottery Barn, alongside department-store and bookstore uses. The Village of Rochester Hills therefore functions as a regional lifestyle center rather than a single-product brand: its identity rests on an open-air physical environment, a curated national tenant mix, and a combination of discretionary shopping, grocery, home, apparel, and service offerings. Current ownership, management, revenue, executive leadership, and a definitive present-day tenant directory are not identified in the supplied sources.
- 2022
Von Maur opens
[1]The renovated Von Maur store opens on March 19 after a delay during the COVID-19 period.
- 2019
Von Maur redevelopment announced
[1]Von Maur announces plans to renovate the former Carson's space and open a store at the center.
- 2019
Barnes & Noble opens
[1]Barnes & Noble opens a new location at The Village of Rochester Hills in April.
- 2018
Carson's closure announced
[1]The Carson's store is slated to close amid unresolved long-term debt issues.
- 2013
Parisian location becomes Carson's
[1]The original department-store anchor is rebranded from Parisian to Carson's.
- 2007
Whole Foods replaces Farmer Jack
[1]Farmer Jack exits the Detroit market, and Whole Foods Market later moves into its former building at the center.
- 2002
The Village of Rochester Hills opens
[1]The open-air center opens on September 20 with more than 50 inline tenants.
- 1996
Redevelopment decision
[1]The owners decide to demolish Meadowbrook Village Mall and replace it with a lifestyle-center complex.
- 1976
Meadowbrook Village Mall opens
[1]A small enclosed shopping mall opens at the future site of The Village of Rochester Hills.
Products and positioning
An upscale, open-air lifestyle center designed around a pedestrian main-street environment, combining department-store, grocery, specialty-retail, home-furnishing, bookstore, dining, and service tenants for shoppers in Rochester Hills and the northern Detroit metropolitan area.
Department store · 2022
Von Maur
Von Maur is the center's principal department-store offering following the redevelopment of the former Carson's space. The store provides a broad assortment of apparel, accessories, footwear, beauty products, home merchandise, and related department-store categories. It became Von Maur's fourth Michigan location when it opened in 2022.
Grocery
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market provides the center's major grocery anchor function. The retailer moved from an existing store into the former Farmer Jack building after Farmer Jack withdrew from the Detroit market. Its presence broadens the center beyond discretionary shopping and supports regular, everyday visits.
Books and media · 2019
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble adds books, stationery, gifts, media, and related cultural merchandise to the center's tenant mix. A new store opened at The Village of Rochester Hills in April 2019, complementing the center's apparel, home, grocery, and department-store uses.
Kitchen and home
Williams Sonoma
Williams Sonoma represents the center's premium kitchenware and home-goods offer. The brand is known for cookware, kitchen tools, tableware, food products, and related home merchandise, contributing to the lifestyle center's upscale home-oriented positioning.
Home furnishings
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn contributes furniture, home décor, textiles, lighting, and other residential furnishings. Its presence reinforces the center's emphasis on lifestyle and home-improvement shopping rather than only apparel and convenience retail.
Women's apparel · 2002
Talbots
Talbots was among the center's opening specialty retailers. The location was reported as the largest Talbots clothing store in Michigan when the center opened, helping establish the center's initial upscale apparel profile.
Brand decisions
2019
Redevelop the former Carson's building for Von MaurGeneration changeBackground
Carson's had been slated to close after debt-related negotiations failed, leaving the center's department-store building vacant.
Action taken
Von Maur announced a substantial renovation and planned to open its fourth Michigan store in the structure.
Aftermath
The opening was delayed from the planned fall 2020 schedule during the COVID-19 period, then completed in March 2022.
2013
Convert the Parisian anchor to Carson'sStrategyBackground
The department-store business operating the original Parisian anchor changed the store's retail identity.
Action taken
The Parisian store was rebranded as Carson's in January 2013.
Aftermath
The center continued operating with a department-store anchor until Carson's later closure.
2007
Replace the Farmer Jack grocery anchorOtherBackground
Farmer Jack's parent company decided to exit the Detroit market and closed the chain's remaining stores.
Action taken
Whole Foods Market moved from an existing local store into the former Farmer Jack building.
Aftermath
The center retained a major grocery anchor while changing its grocery brand and customer proposition.
1996
Replace the enclosed mall with a lifestyle centerStrategyBackground
Meadowbrook Village Mall had struggled to attract major national retailers despite repeated efforts by its owners.
Action taken
The owners chose to demolish the enclosed mall and develop an outdoor, main-street-style center anchored by Parisian and Farmer Jack.
Aftermath
The Village of Rochester Hills opened in 2002 as a new regional lifestyle-center format for the Detroit area.
Recent events
Reported
Alex and Ani opens pop-up at Village of Rochester Hills[2]
Alex and Ani opened a pop-up location at the Village of Rochester Hills, planned to remain there until the end of 2021.
Reported
Sundance announces Michigan store opening[3]
Sundance announced that a new store at The Village of Rochester Hills in metropolitan Detroit would open on April 29, 2021, marking its first location in Michigan.
Sources3 sources
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