Furthermore, the comments are posted at the respective site as well.
“101 new uses for a deserted mall”
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Thank you for an interesting article, I have yet to understand the different aspects of a modern shopping centre.However, it is nice to see the issue of future use of malls being raised to debate from the various perspective of the many wellknown professionals in commercial real estate, in the post. Although the phenomenon of the dying malls is not new, I agree with that the time has come where retails side is awaiting a change in demands of a "new consumer". In this time of transformation, the commercial side face the same demand as the residential, opting for new innovative and refreshing ways of developing shopping centres so that it allows for more outdoor areas where open air and public spaces are emphasized. Many malls that you have prescribed for new uses have been taking a new approach in incorporating educational service, o
r non-conventional uses, I personally believe that this may be a recipe for further hindrance of profitability since it may not intended traffic. A key difference in comparing the various malls, an observation can be noticed that some malls in order to survive are less conservative with the choice of new tenants, thus not thinking longterm, while other commercial developers emphasize more carefully the proportion and design that ultimately brings about a desired and attractive space for consumers and longterm profitability for malls. I also agree with you in that this would be an opportunity to repair the regional landscape by turning them back to open space and in the process of it perhaps making the effort to retrofit it to the community. Furthermore, I believe that retail field should take the same direction that residential real estate is taking in the many modern ambitious plans of reviving the green and healthy way of constructing and maintaining. James J. Farrell, a professor of history at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, is the author of “One Nation Under Goods: Malls and the Seductions of American Shopping” and his ideas are very crucial to malls being viable and sustainable. This is again because the shopping culture is embedded in us and malls thus from an economical standpoint there should not be worries but the focus should be environmental as well. He says, "Right now, consumers can’t afford all the stuff we used to buy. But in the long run, the planet can’t afford all the stuff we do buy"."Citifying a Suburban Shopping Centre"
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Firstly, thank you for an interesting post; I am intrigued to hear about the methods used at this centre being that this shopping centre is doing extremely well in the current economy. Furthermore many of the advantages are stated in your post and may be to use for other developers to consider. Another issue that is very vital to the longterm building of malls is whether they are economically viable while being environmentally sustainable. Thus I am curious whether the transformation from car oriented shopping to mass transit development in the past fourty years is the key to why the shopping centre has been one of the most succesful centres in Canada. One of the advantages seems to be the easy access that the consumer has to the centre. It seems that the mall is directed to the need of the local population and the size may be another factor why it is successful; the trend of major enclosed malls is replaced with new smaller but open air life style centres. However, I am c
urious whether this mall has been remodeled or if this is project that has been there ahead of its time. Another recent controversial phenomenon that you mention in your post is the minimized lending restrictions from banks and institutions. Do you believe this will have any effect in minimizing the size of the development and compromise with the environmental aspect of the malls, being that many malls today are not utilizing their square foot to successfully. Finally, I would be interested in what you think a good solution would be to bring about the issue of sustainability while re-purposing the mall developments in the communitues.
