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Mills Mall To Remain Closed For 6 Months

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4)- A popular shopping mall in Lakewood will remain closed for the next six months because of last week's devastating hail storm that left behind millions of dollars in damages across the state.

The May 8 storm pelted Colorado Mills with baseball-sized hail that damaged the roof.

colorado mills mall hail storm damage
(credit: CBS)

Business owners are struggling to not only recover from the damaging storm but also cope with the reality they may not be back in business until November.

"They want to get it open as quickly as anybody, because they're losing money too, I mean we really are all in this together," said Colorado Mills tenant Sandra Slonim.

"It's just mind boggling, I could not believe that its going to take that long," said Colorado Mills tenant Ty Hurd.

STORM DAMAGE 5VO_frame_103
A car parked at the Colorado Mills mall (credit: CBS)

In a letter to mall tenants obtained by CBS4, the Lakewood mall stated, "At this time, we are not able to estimate, with precision, how long it will take until the complex is ready to be open to the public; however, we do not believe it will be before November."

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Flooding in the Colorado Mills mall (credit: Domo Tyler)

The letter goes on to state that, "the common areas and tenant spaces, suffered substantial water damage. Power has been restored but, due to the continued rain and damage to electrical systems, mechanical systems, including HVAC and lighting, are not at full capacity."

The Mills mall was hit hard, with shoppers evacuating when the storm started flooding the building. Dozens of shoppers found the back windows of their vehicles in the parking lot shattered from the hail.

Severe Weather May 8, 2017
Hail left holes in a car parked at the Colorado Mills on May 8, 2017 (credit: CBS)

Colorado Mills officials say safety is the priority in the clean-up and repair efforts.

Insurance companies are still trying to assess the damage from the hail and rain storm for both Colorado Mills Mall and individual property victims.

One business owner said he is looking for a new place to sell his merchandise.

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