I need a mall.... (Charleston, Clearwater: movies, live, restaurants)

[OleTomCat]

I am also from NJ and remember Depford Mall as one of the shopping Mecas of my youth.....

No I prefer the outdoor types, more fresh air between the shops....

We could use a few decent anchor stores though...

With all of the closing car dealerships there should be some land available soon, the only problem is noone will have any money to spend...

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by jake4c

Hi, I know this seems a little materialistic in this economy...BUT I wanted to get an idea if a nice MALL is needed in the Greater Charleston area. It seems that a lot of people that move here from other area miss their malls....their CPK's, Nordstroms, Macy's, etc.
I know there is the Citadel Mall and the outdoor mall in Mt. P and the Northwoods Mall and the Tanger Outlets...but the closet REAL Mall is in Charlotte, NC....SouthPark MAll. I know there are nice stores downtown...but they all close at 6pm and when it is hot don't you want to shop inside?

Maybe in time I will no longer miss a Mall (I hope)
But my Husband is looking for a development project....and I told him to go develop mall...a nice mall.
So...do you think a mall that would cover the greater Charleston Area (Summerville, W. Ashely, Charleston, Mt. P) is a good idea.

Just trying to get a feel if there is a need or not in the area

Why not rehab the Citadel Mall and put some more upscale malls in it? I think the ambiance of that mall is so tired and blah and it seems dark also. Maybe it could be jazzed up and some more upscale stores added. It certainly isn't very inviting the way it is. I like the Tanger outlets much better, or downtown or certain stores in Mount Pleasant. The Tanger outlet facility is much cheerier and seems cleaner. For that matter maybe N. Charleston would be the place for a new mall.

I don't think I'd want to be in the mall building business in this economy with consumer and retail spending down however.

[moneill]

The Avenues and The Forum style malls seem to be the niche these days. They have the traditional stores but allow for some boutique style. Charleston or Mount Pleasant will get something like that eventually. Right now -- don't expect anyone to be developing that kind of property <G>.

(google The Avenues Mall or The Forum Mall to see what I mean).

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by emilybh

Why not rehab the Citadel Mall and put some more upscale malls in it? I think the ambiance of that mall is so tired and blah and it seems dark also. Maybe it could be jazzed up and some more upscale stores added. It certainly isn't very inviting the way it is. I like the Tanger outlets much better, or downtown or certain stores in Mount Pleasant. The Tanger outlet facility is much cheerier and seems cleaner. For that matter maybe N. Charleston would be the place for a new mall.

I don't think I'd want to be in the mall building business in this economy with consumer and retail spending down however.

I agree with refurbishing and updating Citadel Mall (if a new mall is needed at all) - the location is perfect and the parking is already there. I am totally AGAINST clearing more green spaces and cutting down more trees for another mall. However, malls across across America are a dying breed and people are shopping more and more at the "town center" type venues, like Tanger Oulet and Mt. P.'s Town Center.
I personally don't like malls and haven't since I was in my 20's....I get somewhat claustrophobic when I can't see outside for long periods of time.

[mrpeatie]

In theory they could raze Citadel mall and make better use of the land immediately around it to build something like Town Center which really would not take much more space than the current mall.

They have Freshfields on Johns Island now. As a West Ashley resident I think the problem is we do not have the per capital income/density to bring in a more upscale mall or shops. Those head to Mt Pleasant. Whole Foods is a testament to that because that chain does the absolute best job targetting the combo of high traffic and disposeable income. And it went close-in Mt P.

We had a Pariseinne (sp) a couple of years ago and it was supposedly women's shoe heaven compared to all the other local dept stores but we didn't keep that open too horribl long. I think we are simply an odd market- eonough $ and people but not enough people with a lot of $. Also everything east of us is ocean so we do not benefit from bringing shoppers in from 60-80 miles in each direction like the malls in Charlotte do.

[fqtravlr]

Shop online. No makeup required. No outfit dilemma.

With the overwhelming glut of vacant retail space (and wholesale facilities, for that matter), the very last thing we need is a new shopping mall. Build us a Park. Maybe with a duck pond and some paddle boats. An ice cream stand and an open air ampitheater would be nice too. Add some bike paths and maybe a nice playground. Much better than being trapped inside a mall with all the gangster wannabes and McDonald's kiosks.

[joyeaux]

Please don't mall me...and I love shopping as well as the next over-stretched consumer. I confess I miss Macy's & run to Columbia for it, however. But the Towne Center concept is so much more appealing.

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by fqtravlr

Shop online. No makeup required. No outfit dilemma.

With the overwhelming glut of vacant retail space (and wholesale facilities, for that matter), the very last thing we need is a new shopping mall. Build us a Park. Maybe with a duck pond and some paddle boats. An ice cream stand and an open air ampitheater would be nice too. Add some bike paths and maybe a nice playground. Much better than being trapped inside a mall with all the gangster wannabes and McDonald's kiosks.

I can't rep you until I "spread the wealth" more, so just wanted you to know I love your post!

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

I agree with refurbishing and updating Citadel Mall (if a new mall is needed at all) - the location is perfect and the parking is already there. I am totally AGAINST clearing more green spaces and cutting down more trees for another mall. However, malls across across America are a dying breed and people are shopping more and more at the "town center" type venues, like Tanger Oulet and Mt. P.'s Town Center.
I personally don't like malls and haven't since I was in my 20's....I get somewhat claustrophobic when I can't see outside for long periods of time.

Yes I agree. It is all about walkability and access to efficient public transportation (or should be). Look at this cool site that shows what future well designed cities would be like when we inevitably evolve from a monetary based economy which has been the cause of all of the greed and wars over time to a resource based economy. www.thevenusproject.com. Anyway, the cities of the future will be well designed and people living downtown will realize more benefits than those who don't.

San Antonio has a cool mall on the Riverwalk downtown and the river actually runs through,under the mall.

Boston's Faneuil Hall would fit perfectly in downtown historic Charleston. Maybe someone could buy Fleet Landing and put it there. Look how pretty this building is and imagine it on the harbor with several good restuarants all facing the water.

http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/

If you couldn't get Fleet landing them maybe up by the bridge or over on the Ashley river side.

Certainly there would be NO ROOM for a Nordstroms in a mall like that. I think if Nordstroms and Macy's are to come to Charleston they should be in their own spaces downtown just like Saks is. After all, all the bigger historic cities have the big retailers separated and situated on a main street ie Boston, NY.C and San Francisco. Charleston doesn't really NEED a big mall because the weather is so nice here year round. You don't need to shop inside except to maybe get away from the heat or the rain but as long as there is shade like at Tanger, that is really all you need.

I think Charleston lacks nice waterfront restaurants so having a mall by the river with some nice restaurants in or near it would fill that need.

[SCBeaches]

Yes, a riverfront shopping area would be nice....in Jacksonville they have Jax Landing, there's one in Miami and some other cities I've been to also. Sidewalk dining, nice shops, musicians, fresh air, views of the water....now that's a nice, relaxing shopping experience! I hope someone reads your idea, Emily, and sends it to the right person, because that would go over great in Charleston!!