 At its peak, the center housed over thirty stores.As early as 1952, the Realty Mortgage and Investment Corporation of Detroit announced that a multimillion-dollar "Southgate Center" would be built at Eureka and Trenton Roads, and that "space has already been let to many Michigan chain stores, including Kinsel Drugs, Federal's, Wrigley Stores, S. S. Kresge and others," with construction scheduled to begin in the fall of 1952.Southgate's sister center, Eastgate Center (located at 10½ Mile and Gratiot in Roseville) was announced at the same time, with both to have Federal and Kresge as anchors.