 At the time, representatives of both Glazer and DeBartolo noted that the mall's decline was due to a perception of white flight in the surrounding neighborhoods, a claim which they felt was unsubstantiated since many of the former mall tenants such as Kroger and Walgreens had relocated across the street and not left the neighborhood entirely.Another factor in the mall's decline prior to the mid-1980s was a lack of escalation clause in the leases of original tenants, which in turn resulted in deferred maintenance of the property and an inability to attract new tenants in order to stay competitive with other area malls.DeBartolo had been selected by Glazer Enterprises owner Jerome Glazer to assist in mall renovations, and had gotten nearly $7 million in city grants to undergo renovations.