Shopping Center Redevelopment
Might Not Result in More Shopping

If you have a dead mall, you need to face the facts of shopping center redevelopment right away. It's nearly universal to go into denial first, but try to jump right on it when you notice things slowing down. If you ignore the situation, it will not improve; it will in fact deteriorate. In a mall, all stores are interdependent to some extent. And mixed use redevelopment is often your only real solution, but because you depend on sales tax, perhaps, you don't want to acknowledge that.

Dead mall is the term for a shopping mall that feel lifeless, has many vacant storefronts, and lacks the traffic to generate excitement and a positive sales environment. You can spot a dead mall by looking at the parking lot. If there are very few cars near the doors, start learning about shopping center redevelopment.

It will get worse. Too many households are maxed out on their credit cards, and the continued sluggish economy isn't good for shopping.

But in municipalities or counties that rely heavily on sales tax, dead malls aren't comedy. They signal a rapid and painful deterioration of municipal services if another ready source of revenue is not available.

Nearly every shopping mall is doomed to failure at some point in its history. Shopping centers lack the diversity of a true city or town shopping experience. The theme park atmosphere can exude only one basic mood, so just as theme parks would grow old to most of you if you visited them every couple of weeks or every month, people become bored with malls.

From this perspective shopping center redevelopment is inevitable and should be as creative as possible.

The Approach That Regions Should Take—But Usually Won't

If you're lucky enough to live in a central city that encompasses most of the urbanized metropolitan area, complain tirelessly to the city government about the condition of the dead mall. Demand action, not platitudes about the free market system and other property owners having a right to erect a mall. This city government has jeopardized your immediate neighborhood by allowing too much competing space to be built. This is an abdication of its responsibility for comprehensive planning, and you should call it what it is.

Often, however, the problem is compounded by the fact that the "new" mall, lifestyle center, or strip center that makes the center near you obsolete is in a different municipality, or even a different county. In this case you may have very little recourse except writing a few ineffective letters to regional councils of governments or other organizations that have very little power to influence local land use decisions.

A regional planning commission should take charge and declare that there are too many malls now. It should set up a review process for shopping centers over a specified square footage, review the need for additional shopping, and deny all applications for new malls when population increase or tourism and economic development increases have not justified the need for significant new square footage of retail.

However, regional government is mostly an apparition of a few scholars in the U.S., so usually nothing of the sort will happen. Therefore you may be left seeking some other ideas about how to deal with shopping center redevelopment.

Mixed Use as the Shopping Center Redevelopment of Choice

Now we are going to tell you the plain truth. What works in shopping center redevelopment is usually "mixed use." The term refers to a mix of land uses, such as commercial (retail), office, residential, and perhaps other uses. Many empty nesters would like to live in a beautiful condo with the ability to go to restaurants and shops without going outside, or at least very far outside.

Ideally your shopping center redevelopment can focus on some residential use; think of the wonderful high ceiling units you could offer, interspersed perhaps with some 8 foot ceiling units built two on a level. The advantages of mixed use development include:

• It can diversify housing choices for potential residents. If you have mostly upscale housing, you could add housing affordability without a major uproar. If you have mostly modest housing, this is your chance at a move-up option for current residents.

• Using part of the building as housing means not as much retail space has to be rented.

• You have less vulnerability to a large amount of vacant space if retail takes a downturn when a new shopping center is opened nearby.

• Residents are a built-in market for the stores. Resident-oriented small businesses can be added to the usual mall mix.

• Residents are "eyes on the street" for security purposes.

• Offices can be added to the mix; they are less trendy than retail and less likely to flee to the next suburb for the sake of slightly newer finishes.

• Consider a hotel as part of your mixed use shopping center redevelopment if you live near major highways or an airport.

If you are near a college, you could do loft-style apartments with panache but a moderate price. If you can divide up your mall a bit to lend a feeling of security, privacy, and quiet, perhaps through gradual transition from retail to office to residential, you might have an effective recipe.

While your municipality won't make a killing fiscally by taking the mixed-use approach to shopping center redevelopment, the likelihood that the development will be vital in ten, fifteen, and twenty years is much higher with mixed-use development than with a straight shopping center redevelopment where you simply apply a glossy sheen to everything.

If You Are Determined to Keep the Shopping
in the Shopping Center Redevelopment

Most of you will ignore mixed-use wisdom. You'll say your municipality has to have the sales tax revenue. If you're determined to be a fool and put yourself through this same misery in, say, about fifteen years, I can't stop you. So here's my best advice.

Most shopping malls in the U.S. are owned by large out-of-town corporations. There may be a mall manager, and you can and should sit down to discuss the situation. If you are a concerned citizen, by all means take the mayor with you. Also bring other influential community members who may help you accurately assess the situation.

In many cases you will not be hearing any "straight talk" from the local mall manager. They may not know the true intentions of the owner of the center or be allowed to share that information. Keep calling further and further up the organizational ladder until someone finally refuses to give you information or starts answering your questions.

Here are the key pieces of information the community would like to know:

• Whether there are any plans to sell the mall and/or the underlying piece of land.

• Whether there are plans to make physical improvements to the property in an effort to gain new tenants.

• Management's explanation as to why the center is having difficulty.

• Management's experience with and openness to unconventional approaches to generating revenue from dead malls.

• Management's willingness and ability to spend a few bucks to make a better impression on potential customers.

• Management's willingness to address safety concerns by physically closing a portion of the mall to concentrate the small amount of traffic into occupied areas.

Advice to the Community

Beginning here I'm going to talk to "you," but of course I'm talking to you the community, you the elected official, or you the group of concerned citizens. I don't mean to give the impression that I'm only speaking to the shopping center owner.

First and foremost, you should appeal to the mall owner's best self by asking for a major reinvestment. If your state law allows economic development incentives such as tax increment financing, you may have to consider granting some of those, especially if you're in a competitive situation with other suburbs. But do try not to give away very much.

Since newer seems to sell over older in the mall business, you are going to have to escalate the war and make your mall the new mall for a little while. Far from an ideal solution, at least it will postpone the service cuts while you pursue another strategy for your municipality, such as regional pooling of sales tax revenues.

Upgrades to Postpone Shopping Center Redevelopment

If you stick with retail, a major cosmetic facelift is in order. Reconfigure the actual arrangement of stores. Make attractive and versatile outdoor spaces between clusters of shops, unless you are in the most severe of climates. Even then, some outdoor space is popular and necessary today. If you can renovate the parking area and entrances so they look different, do that also. Change the appearance the most you possibly can within a reasonable budget.

Then impose a community improvement, business improvement, or special business district, or whatever is legal in your state as a means of collecting extra sales tax to help pay for refurbishing. If the city has to give an economic development incentive package, make it the least that will possibly do the job.

Next, change the name. Names evoke a mood, so position your mall carefully for its future. Disassociate yourself with the failed dead mall as much as possible.

If security is problem or a perceived problem, post friendly security guard-hosts everywhere. Give them a unique greeting phrase, coupons to distribute, or an interesting and entertaining persona. For example, maybe the security folks are clowns or elves or info-babes. Have them offer to escort shoppers to their parking spaces.

More Unusual Ideas for Filling Your Mall

Currently there is much interest in "going green," so consider using your outdoor space creatively. If you have wetlands or mountains or forest to show off, do so. Place food or drinks for sale nearby. Perhaps you also can attract a demonstration of the latest wind turbine, solar panels, electric car, and so forth.

Shopping center redevelopment really could be all about food. If there are local favorites, give them favorable terms that they cannot refuse. If you have to pull a few local gourmets out of their kitchens to become entrepreneurs, do that. Of course offer generous entrepreneurship support if you try such a thing. Woo great operators from the next city.

Develop unique shops based on successful local shops found elsewhere in the metropolitan area. Try the "I will if you will" approach to business attraction. Aim for at least 20% of the stores to be leased all at once to local merchants.

Also try selling the world. Instead of the same tired collection of stores that other malls offer, find entrepreneurs who want to establish an Irish, German, or Russian store. These could be kiosks, or you could convert the entire mall.

You could give artists free studio space in return for opening their studio during the afternoons. A variation of this has been tried at Crestwood Court in the St. Louis area, with mixed results. Bring in piano teachers and tutors, so that parents will be captive shoppers. Instead of silly-looking massage chairs, bring in a real masseuse.

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