Summit Mall Won`t Be Built

An Indianapolis development firm has advised the city that it has abandoned a plan to build the state`s largest mall in west Little Rock. For more than a decade, Simon Property Group has wanted to build a One-point-one million square foot mall near the junction of interstates 430 and 630. The Summit Mall project has faced lawsuits by area landowners. But the state Supreme Court ruled in December that the landowners waited too long to complain that the developers had missed a filing deadline. That allowed the project to go forward, although the high court also ruled that Little Rock residents should have the right to a referendum on whether the mall should be allowed. Simon`s executive vice president Tom Schneider said the company does NOT know what it will do with the property yet, but knows it wants to save the city the time and expense of a referendum. He said the original design -- quote -- "will not be built under any circumstances." Simon also owns University Mall in Little Rock and McCain Mall in North Little Rock. When it started its Summit Mall plans, the area was largely open space. But since then, strip malls have come to dominate west Little Rock.