The Death of Malls: Greatly Exaggerated?
If you’ve been feeling down since the New York Times piece on the death of malls came out this week, we come bearing positive news. Simon Property Group’s Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, one of the largest in America, will undergo a “major renovation” involving its common areas this year, with details to follow at a special invite-only event on Jan. 20, the Daily Herald reports. Woodfield’s other exciting update: the upcoming opening of Level 257, a Pac-Man themed restaurant/entertainment mecca.
The reason Woodfield’s doing well while others are ending up on DeadMalls.com? It’s a “have” (a trophy asset targeting high-end consumers) not a “have-not,” the NYT writes. The have-nots have met more unfortunate fates. More than two dozen enclosed malls have shuttered since 2010 and 60 more are on the precipice, according to Green Street Advisors’ data. In addition to the bottom half of the 99%’s dire socioeconomic straights bringing down demand, the market’s become just too saturated from the ghosts of retail booms past.
