Like many in Northwest Indiana, Josh Huddleston has childhood memories of visiting Southlake Mall — throwing coins in the fountains and visiting KB Toys. “The mall opens before the stores open, and I remember waiting out in line for the gates to open, to get the hot toy of the year,” Huddlestun recalled.
Now, Huddlestun is mayor of Hobart, and he helped recognize the mall’s 50 years of operation last September.
“Southlake Mall, in particular, has been a major fixture in Northwest Indiana and even beyond,” says Micah Pollak, an associate professor of economics at Indiana University Northwest. “Since its opening, it has been a draw of consumers from a very broad area because of the density of shopping it provides and the nature of the shops.”…