Putting Dead Shopping Malls to Better Use

Interesting short interview in the July-August issue of Harvard Business Review with architect Ellen Dunham-Jones (link not available). Her take on the future of sprawling shopping malls in America: they're dead.

Well, not entirely. Already, she notes, malls are beginning to be retrofitted for Gen Y and Baby Boom customers as urban mixed-used environments featuring indoor and outdoor recreation areas, sit down restaurants, pedestrian friendly residential neighborhoods, and commercial offices. One example: Belmar, near Denver.

For retailers these centers offer new challenges but also great opportunities.

"Retailers will have to figure out how to reach a mix of workers and residents and integrate discretionary goods with those that meet everyday needs," she opines. ""But they'll be able to build relationships with 'regulars' and to compete against online shopping by emphasizing local identity and community and offering social experience."

Have you had experience with Belmar or other mall retrofits? What do you think? What do you see as opportunities for mall makeovers?

(Image courtesy of Belmar)