Quote:
Originally Posted by crich70
There was an enclosed mall down the street from me when I moved into the apt. complex where I live. Now it's split up into separate stores with no ability to walk about from one to another.
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In the area I lived there were four enclosed malls within 15 minutes street level driving distance. Figure; 10 mile radius.
First was in a suburban business area--two hotels, several office buildings, two apartment high rises--at the exit of a major interstate.
Second was in a residential area, housing developments and a few small businesses all around.
Third was also a residential area but it had a couple office buildings and one high rise.
All dated to the 60's.
The fourth dated to the 90's and wasn't an enclosed mall, but ratber a faux-downtown conglomerate in an upscale outer suburb that had no real downtown. Most of the buildings were multipurpose; ground level retail, business and residential second/third floors. Parking garage. Nice mix of businesses. If you worked there and could afford the rents you could walk everywhere. Had both a B&N and a Borders (which none of the others had). For a while, anyway. B&N is still there.
Of the older ones, the one embedded in the business center is still around.
The second one died in the 90's. First they tried using it for office space, then other uses. Eventually they razed it. It might be a park for all I know.
The third one was downsized and rebuilt into a faux-downtown recently. Looks nice but it's early to tell how successful the revamp will be.
All in all about 50% of the mall space is gone, maybe more if you don't think of the multiuse complexes as malls. A case can be made either way.
The thing is, by the 90's--pre-internet, mind you--there was evidence of trouble coming and smart developers acted accordingly.
Blaming the internet alone, and focusing on Amazon specifically, is short sighted. The problem is not online nor is it the Mall concept itself, but rather the technological and sociological changes that reduced the need and profitability of the format.
Essentially the same thing that happened to the cathedrals of literature.
There's still room for them but only in certain very specific and limited places.
It's the 21st century out there--a fifth of the way through--and 20th century concepts are more problem than solution. New age, new solutions needed.