Mall Owners Hope To Boost Traffic By Investing In Apartments, Entertainment
Given the current retail environment some mall landlords are looking beyond malls toward apartments and entertainment to boost traffic.
Westfield Corp. has been trimming its shopping center portfolio since 2004 (today the Australian firm manages 33 malls instead of its previous 66) and it is also planing to build its first apartment building in the U.S. in San Diego, the Wall Street Journal reports. The firm recently spent $585M to revamp its UTC mall in San Diego, adding dining spaces, a public transit center, an 18k SF event space, new shops and office space.
Westfield isn’t alone. Simon Property Group developed a luxury hotel and residential tower next to The Galleria Houston mall. The company also has a platform dedicated to finding technology investments to boost shopping center traffic.
