NY Times: With Department Stores Disappearing, Malls Could Be Next

[BleedGopher]

In the rare times where I have to go into a Mall, I find them depressing and void of any character. For anyone that has been in Southdale Mall in the last few years (and even worse the last few months) it is just a morgue. It's smart how some of the mall owners are trying to reinvent the space (LifeTime building a club attached to Southdale), entertainment options, etc. but even then, the vacancies with the anchors going down will make these large footprints even less appealing. It's going to be an eyesore for many cities in the years to come.

Per the NYT:


The directory map for the Northfield Square Mall in Bourbonnais, Ill., has three glaring spaces where large department stores once stood. Soon there will be a fourth vacancy, now that J.C. Penney is liquidating stores after filing for bankruptcy.

With so much empty space and brick-and-mortar retail in the midst of seismic changes even before the pandemic hit, the mall’s owners have been talking with local officials about identifying a “higher and better use for the site,” though they have declined to elaborate on what that could be.

“Filling in one anchor space, generally, is doable,” said Elliot Nassim, president of Mason Asset Management, which co-owns the Northfield Square Mall and dozens of other enclosed shopping centers. “But once you get hit by two others and you’re dealing with three anchor closures, that’s usually where we become a little more likely to put it into the bucket of a redevelopment.”

The standard American mall — with its vast parking lots, escalators and air conditioning, and an atmosphere heavy on perfume samples and the scent of Mrs. Fields cookies — was built around department stores. But the pandemic has been devastating for the retail industry and many of those stores are disappearing at a rapid clip. Some chains are unable to pay rent and prominent department store chains including Neiman Marcus, as well as J.C. Penney, have filed for bankruptcy protection. As they close stores, it could cause other tenants to abandon malls at the same time as large specialty chains like Victoria’s Secret are shrinking.

With Department Stores Disappearing, Malls Could Be Next (Published 2020)

Brick-and-mortar retail was in the midst of seismic changes even before the pandemic. Analysts say as much as a quarter of America’s malls may close in the next five years.

www.nytimes.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Spaulding!No!]

They will be repurposed in mosques.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I would venture a guess that we have seen the last of the giant mega-malls. The future is more likely to be smaller strip malls or specialty stores that are not anchored to a big box store or old-fashioned department store.

Also, much more emphasis on personal service places. Instead of going to the mall to shop, people will go to a smaller mall to get a haircut, have their taxes done, go to a chiropractor, etc.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I would venture a guess that we have seen the last of the giant mega-malls. The future is more likely to be smaller strip malls or specialty stores that are not anchored to a big box store or old-fashioned department store.

Also, much more emphasis on personal service places. Instead of going to the mall to shop, people will go to a smaller mall to get a haircut, have their taxes done, go to a chiropractor, etc.

Similar to big-city downtowns, malls are going to have to adapt to a new reality: that people aren't buying enough in person to fund retail store rents in those buildings. Let's say they do adapt and that the tenants are more geared to what people will leave their homes and go there to do--some combination of dining, entertainment, retail/service (e.g. Apple Store), civic gathering (e.g. Santa), and maybe other things we haven't thought of yet. There's still the matter of the spaces themselves. One reason Southdale isn't what it used to be is that the original mid-century beauty and character was "modernized" over the years into something that's ugly and boring. That's truly one of the reasons that I enjoy going to the Mall of America: it does have some architectural interest and variety. Each wing and corridor has its own unique character, and I think they even seasonally decorate them differently. It's a lot, but it's not excessive. Their designers are the tops. In contrast, most other malls--Ridgedale is the worst--exhibit a similar ennui as Melania Trump's grotesque Christmas decor at the White House: simultaneously cluttered and vacant.

 

[tikited]

Also, much more emphasis on personal service places. Instead of going to the mall to shop, people will go to a smaller mall to get a haircut, have their taxes done, go to a chiropractor, etc.

All at the same time? Ooooh, I have an idea...

 

[forever a gopher]

Similar to big-city downtowns, malls are going to have to adapt to a new reality: that people aren't buying enough in person to fund retail store rents in those buildings. Let's say they do adapt and that the tenants are more geared to what people will leave their homes and go there to do--some combination of dining, entertainment, retail/service (e.g. Apple Store), civic gathering (e.g. Santa), and maybe other things we haven't thought of yet. There's still the matter of the spaces themselves. One reason Southdale isn't what it used to be is that the original mid-century beauty and character was "modernized" over the years into something that's ugly and boring. That's truly one of the reasons that I enjoy going to the Mall of America: it does have some architectural interest and variety. Each wing and corridor has its own unique character, and I think they even seasonally decorate them differently. It's a lot, but it's not excessive. Their designers are the tops. In contrast, most other malls--Ridgedale is the worst--exhibit a similar ennui as Melania Trump's grotesque Christmas decor at the White House: simultaneously cluttered and vacant.

The Mall of America seems to be above this problem for now. It's still seen as a "destination", with enough things to do that justify the headache of getting there, parking, etc. We have taken our kids there from time to time just as a way to get out of the house (ride a couple rides, go to the lego store, walk around, etc.). Conversely, I'm not sure you could pay me enough to haul my family to a "normal" mall like Rosedale or Ridgedale.

The amount of out-of-state plates in the parking ramp is always astounding to me, even during the school year. I don't know what kind of gov't subsidies they got, but they do seem to be pulling in quite a bit of out-of-state money. It would be interesting to know what kind of return they've gotten on their investment.

 

[Ogie Ogilthorpe]

The Mall of America seems to be above this problem for now. It's still seen as a "destination", with enough things to do that justify the headache of getting there, parking, etc. We have taken our kids there from time to time just as a way to get out of the house (ride a couple rides, go to the lego store, walk around, etc.). Conversely, I'm not sure you could pay me enough to haul my family to a "normal" mall like Rosedale or Ridgedale.

The amount of out-of-state plates in the parking ramp is always astounding to me, even during the school year. I don't know what kind of gov't subsidies they got, but they do seem to be pulling in quite a bit of out-of-state money. It would be interesting to know what kind of return they've gotten on their investment.

I have to think that the MOA being so close to the airport is absolutely HUGE for their business. I know my friends who live in MSP say they never like going there and I'm sure many locals feel the same way. For myself, I will go there on the front end or back end of a trip to MSP if I have time before/after flights. Outside of that, if the MOA were NOT right next to the airport, I would have to say there is no way I would ever go there.

 

[Nokomis]

I think malls will survive by having more entertainment and less retail. Instead of anchored by a JCPenny, maybe it's a trampoline park.