Mall getting go-karts and golf

The new owners of Lafayette Square Mall are plotting a $12-million redevelopment that would add a go-kart track and PC gaming area to the former Lazarus. New York-based Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. wants to make maximum use of the 113-acre property, which it bought from locally based Simon Property Group in December. Plans include a sale of out lots, a larger food court, a façade and landscaping upgrade and a goal to fill vacant anchor spaces by the end of 2008, said Ryan Zickler, a local retail broker who is consulting on the project. The new owners also are considering a new name for the 1.2-million-square-foot mall: Heartland of Lafayette. The most audacious part of the plan is a 75,000-square-foot entertainment center that would include an indoor go-kart track, bumper cars, glow-golf, laser tag and amusement games. Party rooms and buffet offerings also are in the works for the former home of Lazarus. And a PC gaming area would take another 40,000 square feet, Zickler said. What do you think?