How are the malls where you are? (2013, real estate, buying)
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I live in the suburbs of Indianapolis. There are two "lifestyle centers" nearby that have stores you'd find in traditional malls. One is smaller than the other, but I haven't see any vacancies in either and both seem to have quite a bit of traffic. The other mall I'm familiar with is Castleton Square, a traditional indoor mall. I'm not a big fan of it, but the few times I've been there it's been a solid B.
Which lifestyle centers are you referring to? I assume one of them is Clay Terrace. What's the other one?
Also, you didn't mention Fashion Mall at Keystone, which is right in your area. It's the high-end mall of the metro area (Nordstrom, Saks, Crate & Barrel, etc.). Your comments on Castleton Square are fair.
Which lifestyle centers are you referring to? I assume one of them is Clay Terrace. What's the other one?
Also, you didn't mention Fashion Mall at Keystone, which is right in your area. It's the high-end mall of the metro area (Nordstrom, Saks, Crate & Barrel, etc.). Your comments on Castleton Square are fair.
Hamilton Town Center. I forgot about the Fashion Mall. I have never been there.
In the Bay Area, it depends on the location of the mall. In the upscale/wealthy areas, malls are crowded. In the not so upscale areas, they are pretty quiet.
I remember going to one mall (I think Bayfair), that was almost empty, and a security guard came over because I was wearing a red bandana as a headband, and it wasn't allowed (gang colors). His boss took one look at me, laughed, and said it was fine (clearly not a gang member). That, in contrast to Sun Valley mall, which always seems to have a healthy crowd, and where I was never approached by security no matter what colors I wore. This was all around 10 years ago, though, so it could've changed by now.
In general, I think indoor malls are becoming less popular, and outdoor malls are becoming king. In the Bay Area, there's Emerybay, or basically the entire downtown of Walnut Creek. In SLC, where I live now, the most popular malls (City Creek, Gateway) are mostly outdoor, or have ceilings that open up so they're indoor/outdoor.
The ones near me were empty in the middle of winter and just continue to be empty. Maintenance seems to be deferred and some prime spots are just mall-boarded up. If this is the recovery and if 50% of the economy depends on consumer spending, this seems really bad.
That is definitely not the case here, with either indoor/enclosed malls or newer outdoor malls. Here in my area- all of the malls in the Seattle metro area are doing very well- bustling with activity, busy every day, and full. The only empty stall in my nearest mall is empty because a store had moved to a new location at the other end of the mall- and is being renovated for another tenant that is already advertising a mid summer opening.
Where I am originally from- Lincoln, Nebraska- is somewhat similar. A couple of empty stalls here and there in their malls, but for the most part they are alive and well as they ever have been with lots of activity.
I don't know where you are, but that is definitely not the case where I live or have visited recently. Here in my area- all of the malls in the Seattle metro area are doing very well- bustling with activity, busy every day, and full. The only empty stall in my nearest mall is empty because a store had moved to a new location at the other end of the mall- and is being renovated for another tenant that is already advertising a mid summer opening.
Where I am originally from- Lincoln, Nebraska- is somewhat similar. A couple of empty stalls here and there in their malls, but for the most part they are alive and well as they ever have been with lots of activity.
Both Seattle and Lincoln are very healthy economically. There is disposable income in those areas. That is not the case in many places, like where I'm from in TN and the malls are closing down.
Location: NYC based - Used to Live in Philly - Transplant from Miami
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I live in Philadelphia and am from Miami.
Philly area:
King of Prussia Mall is always packed
Willow Grove Mall is always packed as well.
Only mall that caters low and lower middle class are getting down, such as Montgomery Mall. (If their anchor stores are Hollister or the other usual cheap mainstream brands, they are usually dying)
Miami:
Malls there thrive. Aventura Mall. Dadeland Mall. Sawgrass Mills. You name it.
I'm originally from Seattle but I live in Kuwait. In Kuwait, all what Kuwaitis can do is shop. Kuwait has got a bunch of great malls with ac. How about you judge.
*The Avenues Mall is the largest
it's way larger than it looks and there are lots of extensions in the mall.
Lol, yes... The Mall of GA is a busy place. And plus, you went on a Saturday during the summer.
My closest mall is Town Center and it's an okay mall.
Southlake Mall -- never been, but nothing much goes on there
Gwinnett Place -- pretty active, very good
Union Station Mall -- never been, CLOSED
Greenbriar Mall -- is in the hood, you have to be careful if you go there.
North Dekalb Mall -- good
South Dekalb Mall -- be careful
Stonecrest Mall -- good
Northlake Mall -- good
I'm not in the position to go visit them, but Yelp reviews don't seem to jive with what you're saying.
Gwinnett Place - "5/5/2014 This mall was popular back in the early 90s and early 2000s. Now it's dead and boring. Nobody really goes here anymore. I think they should tear it down and make it outlet mall. "
North Dekalb - "6/2/2014 I went to North Dekalb Mall, a place that I used to shop at for years back in the early 2000's, for the first time in over 5 years. I was saddened by what has come of it...nearly 60% of the stores have shutdown." The poster indicates they are planning on tearing it down and redeveloping.
Stonecrest Mall - "2/21/2014 I agree with the other reviews on here in that this mall has seen better days when it first opened. But despite the economic challenges, this mall is hanging in there!"
Northlake Mall - "3/30/2014 This mall has seen better days... Still, a silver lining - it's usually pretty vacant, and if you can find what you need at one of the department stores (Kohl's is their best, in my opinion) - you can avoid crowds and traffic here easily."
My point isn't to rip on Atlanta malls but again to point out that if we're talking about the state of malls in general, I think in most areas it is not trending towards the positive.
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