Tear down that mall

[GoesTo11]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/25/AR2008122501054.html?hpid=sec-business

"Malls are a testament to the kind of consumer thinking that got us into the recessionary mess we're in today, after all. And that's why we need to close every single one of them.

snip

Already, malls are in a considerable amount of trouble. Shopping centers on the block are selling for 25 to 35 percent less than they did a year ago. Retail vacancies are on the rise; nationally, 6.6 percent of stores were empty in the third quarter of 2008, a 20 percent increase over the same quarter last year and the highest rate since 2002.

snip

if this economic disaster has taught us anything, it's that folks need to pay a little more attention and stop throwing all their cares away. For that to happen, we need to make sure that no one can ever again scream, "Let's go to the mall!"

This was an interesting Washington Post article. Basically the idea of malls is obsolete for a lot of reasons. Some will have to close, but why not all? So crazy it might work!

If we did, what could we do with the empty malls? My vote - community centers / indoor rec centers -- we need more to do during the winter.

Should we close all the malls?

[willing dwarf]

1. Like Reagan "Tear Down this Wall"

They are like cathedrals of a dying religion.

[Pab Sungenis]

2. Housing.

Retrofit the storefronts into apartments.

[GoesTo11]

6. That could be nice - keep a little bit of the mall

Keep the walking path, some coffee shops & bakeries. Have a day-care center or two, and a post office. Turn most of the parking lots into playgrounds/sportsfields.

[ikojo]

11. A former mall in dowtown St Louis is

in the process of being converted into condos and lofts. This mall, St Louis Center, opened in the 1980s to great acclaim and with the help of tax dollars. A declining downtown population and fear of crime led to its demise by the end of the 1990s. by that time there were very few stores or restaurants.

Another thing that led to the decline of St Louis Center is the fact people had to pay for parking, something many did not want to do especially when many of the same stores can be found in the suburbs where parking is free.

[snappyturtle]

3. I don't think malls got us into this recessionary mess. I think outsourcing,

loss of jobs and exceedingly poor decisions in the finance sector, Greenspan anyone? and failing middle class incomes got us to where we are today.

[Warpy]

9. Absolutely, you get the gold star.

Supply side bullshit that starved consumers while fattening the rich and corporate caused this mess.

Most of us like looking down our long blue noses at somebody we think is overconsuming while our own junk is absolutely necessary to maintain our lifestyle, no matter what it is. My own house is stuffed to the rafters with junk I'd now like to get rid of, most of it from thrift shops and from my parents.

However, buying stuff is what keeps our fellow citizens employed, at least in retail. It used to keep them employed making it, and will probably do that again when our politicians get scared enough of us to re enact common sense protectionism. Buying stuff isn't really the problem.

Buying it with debt because we're not paid enough is the problem.

[snappyturtle]

14. Agreed. nt

[Ilsa]

4. Our mall is put to great use every morning, until the stores open, that is:

The seniors get together and play card games and dominoes. Those that still can are speed-walking the path set up for them, getting their exercise for free, in a safe and temperate environment.

[K Gardner]

5. Make them shelters for all the people who have been evicted from their homes. My local

mall is a ghost town. Target and Circuit City monstrosity buildings site abandoned. Huge waste of available space. Rec centers are a GREAT idea.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Having an economy based on consumerism to this degree will be a problem.

You can't depend on just people buying shit indefinitely without limit to buoy and grow an economy.

[regnaD kciN]

21. You especially can't depend on it...

...when real income for the middle class has been dropping steadily for the past twenty-five years.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Yes, close them down

the one in town is nearly dead anyway. There are two stores still operating, and they are on the outside edge of the place. Use the space for mall walkers, for community centers, for municipal sorage.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. The oldest enclosed mall in Chicago is being converted to mixed use residential-shopping

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randhurst_Mall

Randhurst Mall, previously known as Randhurst Center or simply Randhurst, was a shopping mall that was located at the corner of Rand Road (U.S. Route 12) and Elmhurst Road (IL Route 83) in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
<snip>
At the time of its 1962 opening, it was the first enclosed regional mall in the Chicago area and the largest enclosed air-conditioned space in the United States. At its 2008 closure, the mall was anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, Carson Pirie Scott, and Costco. The mall is to be demolished and rebuilt as a lifestyle center; the anchors are to remain as part of the new development.

In April 2007, the village of Mount Prospect approved a plan which included the demolition of the core of Randhurst Mall (as well as the remainder of the former Wards) and its conversion into a lifestyle center. In place of the mall would be apartments and a hotel located above new retail buildings; the anchors, however, would remain standing and be integrated into the new development. The mall's basement would be converted into parking for the apartments. A new AMC movie theater, with 18 screens, would replace the existing outparcel theater. The redevelopment was to begin within two years. <2>.

[fed_up_mother]

12. If you live in a dreadfully hot climate

a mall can seem like a gift from the heavens. Air conditioning! :) It makes it much easier to shop than walking up and down a muggy, humid street in 100 degree weather.

[drexel dave]

13. Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - Burn Down the Malls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK1DS-WW9hM

[CoffeeCat]

15. Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids...

opened in the early 1980's and did well for many years. Then, in the late 90's, retailers saw
lower sales and many spaces became vacant.

Today, this gigantic mall has all-but died. I think about 30 percent of the spaces are occupied
by retailers.

Cedar Rapids is using the mall for city offices. When CR had their huge floods last summer, much
of the government assistance was coordinated in the mall. People could file for claims and FEMA
money at the mall. I imagine have this space made a really bad situation just a bit more organized
and bearable for those who lose their homes and more.

I like the idea of converting these malls to community recreation areas. Malls are terrific places
to walk.

[Common Sense Party]

16. I practically LIVED at Westdale Mall when I was 12, 13.

Worked there a few years in the mid-80s.

I haven't been back in probably 17 years. I didn't know it was dying.

[CoffeeCat]

17. Me too!

The mall was built when I was 15, and it was definitely the place to be!

It was so much bigger than Lindale.

I grew up in CR, and I also worked at Westdale for a few years in the mid-80's. Our paths
might have crossed!

:)

[Common Sense Party]

18. I worked at Younkers. Does that even exist anymore?

[CoffeeCat]

19. Yes, Younkers is still at Westdale...

...and Lindale too.

There are many in Iowa. I live in the Des Moines area, and there are 3 in area malls.

It's possible our paths crossed. How funny. I worked at one of the fast-food restaurants that our family owned.

I always liked the Younker's employees. The Von Maur gals could have used some Dale Carnegie training though. :)

[Common Sense Party]

20. Where did you go to high school? And when did you graduate?

Me? Jefferson, 1986.

I worked in the restaurant at Younkers, and then men's department and electronics.