PORTLAND, Ore. — After several businesses have moved out of Portland because of crime, some are choosing to move into Lloyd Center Mall.
The mall has seen a lot of stores leave in the past few years, but now there's starting to be a resurgence.
David Jefferson is the owner of Stackin Kickz, a clothing store over a decade in the making. Jefferson just moved from his location on 33rd and Sandy because of low foot traffic and some issues with petty crime.
"It was always vandalism," Jefferson said. "The entire fence on the side of the shop, it stayed vandalized. They never touched my shop, they always went around it."
Jefferson said he feels the store inside the Lloyd Center Mall will be better protected. He's happy he does not have to constantly check his security cameras when he's away from the store.
"It's way better protected," Jefferson said. "You can't really get in here, ultimately you don't have access to the mall after hours."
Jefferson said he knows the reputation at the Lloyd Center Mall is not great but he did not have any second thoughts about opening his store. He said for the past month he's been open and business has been really good.
Stores like Floating World Comics have also opened up in Lloyd Center due to their previous location in "Old Town" closed because of crime.
Pallet Portland also cites crime as the reason they're moving from downtown with plan to open in the mall soon.
"I still wanted to build and have access to a new client base. I wanted to get back to my childhood mall. I thought the energy would make more sense to me and it's also part of community building," Jefferson said.
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