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The hulking Hickory Hollow Mall — a full 1.1 million square feet of retail space in southeast Nashville — was once the largest shopping center in Tennessee. But like dozens of malls, it’s been in a downward death spiral for more than a decade — despite a scrappy revival effort. Now, the mammoth complex surrounded by acres of parking is on track to join the ranks of malls making a transition into medicine. — Marketplace.org
According to a national database kept by Georgia Tech urban design professor Ellen Dunham-Jones, a total of 32 enclosed malls have shifted to housing health care services, with nearly a third established at the start of the pandemic. Covid lockdowns had a tremendous impact on brick-and-mortar... View full entry
A startling transformation of a former Shanghai shopping mall expected to pump new life into a centuries-old district that has played a seminal role in the history and development of the city is ready to be unveiled thanks to the work of one local firm. AIM Architecture has completed work on its... View full entry
Amazon continues to makes headlines with its labor issues, workers' rights, and headquarters expansion. However, that hasn't stopped the multi-billion-dollar company from growing, for better or for worse. A recent news report from NBC News shared Amazon's moves towards purchasing empty shopping... View full entry
The slow and steady death of the shopping mall has been sped up since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now several months into the public health and economic crisis the pandemic has set off, mall owners and operators are developing specific visions for the post-mall future of American... View full entry
The hypothetical Retail Apocalypse should be supported by a decline in the total retail establishments, but that's not the case. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 1,044,509 establishments for 2018, for a net gain of 2,413 establishments over 2017 (1,042,096). The 2018 figure also represents a net gain of more than 20,800 establishments since a retail trough in 2011, a low point resulting from the Great Recession. — Congress for the New Urbanism
Sharon Woods, CEO of real estate consultant group LandUseUSA, writes in Public Square, a journal produced by the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) presents an opposing, data-driven view of the future of America's retail landscape. Woods writes, "The future for brick-and-mortar retail... View full entry
The megamall, built by Canadian developer Triple Five, will include a Nickelodeon Universe theme park, DreamWorks water park, professional-size skating rink, indoor ski slopes and, of course, shopping. Participating retailers include Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., H&M , Zara and Uniqlo. Some stores won’t be open until next year.
The mall is expected to bring 17,000 jobs in total to the area, an American Dream spokesman said.
— The Wall Street Journal
The project was first proposed in 2003, fittingly, under the name "Xanadu," according to The Wall Street Journal. According to an American Dream spokesperson, the mall is expected to bring 17,000 jobs to New Jersey's Meadowlands area. View full entry
Chain retailers have their eyes on a new type of mall — your university. While higher education may once have been associated with the ivory tower — a secluded place of rigorous study — now companies like Target, Trader Joe’s, Urban Outfitters, and Publix are opening stores on or near college campuses, chasing students who are setting up shopping habits that could last a lifetime. — Buzzfeed News
In an insightful Buzzfeed News article, Leticia Miranda explains why a large number of college campuses are becoming the new rulers of chain retailers. Although college is typically a time for young adults to pursue a higher level of academia, another type of "skill" may be unraveling, the need to... View full entry
It is a surreal urban bubble, where normal life unfolds at an abnormal altitude. To access ground level, residents drive their cars down a ramp. A tall metal fence runs around the perimeter to make sure no one falls or drives off. Peer beyond the fence and you can spot the city’s landmarks below. — The Guardian
In Jakarta, Indonesia exists a suburb, unlike any other. Cosmo Park is unique because it can be found ten stories above ground on top of a shopping mall. At ground level, Jakarta is a city that succumbs to many issues. Many cities around the world suffer from their fair share of obstacles... View full entry
Fans of Netflix's science fiction horror series Stranger Things were recently treated to season 3, which almost entirely takes place within a suburban mall. Filled with neon, fake marble and geometric water features, the postmodern mall design became the ideal setting for the show set... View full entry
Entrepreneur and presidential hopeful Andrew Yang has a new policy proposal that promises to set him apart in the crowded Democratic field. He hopes to address an issue affecting the economic vitality of communities all across the country. Yang wants to save the malls. According to his campaign, some 300 malls will fold over the next 4 years, a number in line with an estimate by Credit Suisse that one-quarter of all malls will close by 2022. — City Lab
In the U.S., the presidential race has already begun with potential candidates showcasing their intended policies and platforms to the American people. Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has created a growing following due to his stance on universal base income and approaching politics... View full entry
A new interactive documentary from the BBC explores the Venezuelan shopping center that became one of the country's most notorious torture centers for political prisoners. Through interviews from ex-detainees, relatives, lawyers and human rights activists, the BBC aims to bring its mysterious... View full entry
He designed the Shard in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, but for his latest project, Italian architect Renzo Piano has taken his impressive legacy to the unsuspecting city of San Ramon in order to build a suburban shopping center. Completed for a reported cost of $300 million, City... View full entry
With the rise of online shopping, we have all been watching the dead mall epidemic for many years now. Addressing those left hanging on in today's world, Bloomberg now brings us the The American Mall Game: A 2018 Retail Challenge. Try your odds at managing a failing mall in this retro 90's... View full entry
Acres of prime real estate are opening for redevelopment as America’s malls struggle to compete with Amazon and other online giants, offering developers a rare shot to remake swaths of land in the country’s built-out metropolises.
In particular, real estate experts say, the demise of retail centers provides one of the best chances to add needed housing [...].
— Los Angeles Times
In his article, LA Times reporter Andrew Khouri also points out the drawbacks of these new development opportunities, writing "residents voiced concern that the development will make the area more attractive to those of higher incomes and put upward pressure on rents in the surrounding area, even... View full entry
“I’m looking for subtle signifiers of an exuberant bygone optimism,” [Photographer Tag Christof] said. “Whether people realize it or not, the things I photograph are the direct result of a system that defines progress only in economic terms.” Christof...has spent the last five years crisscrossing the country in an effort to document architectural sites vanishing from the landscape. — The Outline
Whether you spent your teenage years moodily occupying the food court or have experienced malls primarily as ruin porn, the architectural significance of these former bustling commercial centers can't be overstated. A kind of high water mark of capitalism, the shuttered and demolished malls... View full entry
