Brookdale Pipe Dream

Entrepreneur Donald Jackson: A man with a plan for Brookdale mall

Excerpt:

Donald Jackson -- DJ for short -- said he plans to create badly needed jobs by restoring the Brooklyn Center mall as a retail hub and adding studios for his TV and film business. One interested tenant, he said, is a Bloomington trade school that's looking to expand.

Jackson knows it's a formidable goal. Brookdale's previous owners defaulted on a mortgage of about $52 million. Investment experts point to maintenance costs and taxes as further proof that buying and operating a regional mall is an expensive proposition.

Jackson made a purchase offer of more than $12.5 million, despite limited resources, no experience as a retail developer and recent financial bruises of his own, including bankruptcy and foreclosure.

"I will buy the mall if you let me," he said, dressed in his trademark black suit and sunglasses. "Right now the only thing stopping me is money, and that doesn't scare me."

...

The website for Jackson's company, Poor No More Inc., features a page on the Minnesota Vikings' stadium situation, raising questions about whether he hopes to flip the property to the team. He said anything was possible, although he acknowledged that he hasn't talked to team officials about it.

Willson said the city doesn't have enough money to buy the property. As for the Vikings, he said that he hasn't heard from team officials. He said he understands the site is big enough for a stadium but too small for the amenities and infrastructure of a pro football complex.

Comment: Pipe dream: "A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve."