Landmark Mall (Springfield, Fairfax: real estate, leases, neighborhoods)

[daviddc]

I thought they were going to tear down Landmark Mall to redevelop it into a mix-use neighborhood or something like that. Condo units on top of stores, etc.

[athousandlogins]

Town centers are nice, but indoor shipping malls have plenty of appeal, too

Absolutely. Through most of my 20s, I vastly preferred "anything but the mall." I could literally go years in between visits to indoor malls, and I didn't miss them.

Having a toddler in the house this past winter, though...wow, did that change things! Fair Oaks Mall just about saved my sanity, between the play area and just giving me somewhere with a lot of open space to walk with my child. And while we certainly didn't go there every day, the days we did go there it was hopping.

I think that, as with most things, a good answer lies with balance. The problem with the latter half of the 20th century was that they only built indoor malls, and many areas became saturated with them.

Where I grew up - not a very big or spendy region - there were two big indoor malls almost right across the street from each other. If you go to one of those malls today, you think, "Oh God, why did we ever imagine the indoor mall was a good idea? This place is a ghost town and a wreck!" Storefronts are vacant, the food court is gone, it's so sad. But if you go down the street to the other mall, you think, "This isn't a bad place to hang out." The stores are busy and bright and full and clean. A world of difference in half a mile. But that's the point - you don't need two nearly identical shopping structures within half a mile of each other. Had one of these malls been planned as a "town center," they would probably both be thriving instead of just one of them.

I'd like to think that the future has a good mix of indoor and outdoor centers, at least in places like NoVA where the weather can turn on you for long periods. We just need to be smart about it.

[normie]

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

Absolutely. Through most of my 20s, I vastly preferred "anything but the mall." I could literally go years in between visits to indoor malls, and I didn't miss them.

LOL, I was exactly the same way. Funny how things change as you get older. When I was in my 20s I was convinced I'd always feel the same way.

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

But that's the point - you don't need two nearly identical shopping structures within half a mile of each other. Had one of these malls been planned as a "town center," they would probably both be thriving instead of just one of them.

I'd like to think that the future has a good mix of indoor and outdoor centers, at least in places like NoVA where the weather can turn on you for long periods. We just need to be smart about it.

I like this argument. It's practical. And you're absolutely right, a variety of places attracts the most shoppers. Something for everyone. You know, if the owner does decide to redesign the center maybe they could convert some of the empty stores into places to do things (rather than simply places to shop). A place to race model cars, maybe, or a little mini golf course. Or a place with a bunch of Wiis set up so you can play on them in the store. That might bring in customers.

[SteelCityRising]

Where's the nearest Dave & Buster's to Landmark? It looks like the only one in ALL of Virginia is in Richmond. That would most certainly do wonders to boost foot traffic and breathe new life into the facility.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Where's the nearest Dave & Buster's to Landmark? It looks like the only one in ALL of Virginia is in Richmond. That would most certainly do wonders to boost foot traffic and breathe new life into the facility.

White Flint Mall, in Bethesda.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

You can have ground-level shops and restaurants, Class-A office space on the next few floors, and then mid-range to upper-class condos and apartments in the upper floors with impressive views.

That's more or less the plan (or at least was until the owner went bankrupt). The anchor stores (Sears, Macys, Lord and Taylor) are staying while the rest of the mall and parking lot get bulldozed and turned into a mixed-use town center.

Moving a Landmark Into a New Era - washingtonpost.com

http://alexandriava.gov/uploadedFile...D03Planweb.pdf

I agree that a Dave and Buster's would be a great addition, considering the nearest one is White Flint, and that one is always packed. Where I'm from, near Philadelphia, a Dave and Buster's and other restaurants were added to a dying mall and business seems to have picked up a bit.

[pcity]

Originally Posted by becwells

Do you think that an outdoor, town center type place would work well with Old Town so close? If people are looking for that kind of shopping experience, wouldn't they just go to Old Town? Then again, if they're looking for a mall they can just hop over to Crystal City.

I think Old Town and the revitalized Landmark would draw people for different reasons. Old Town is tourist-y and has mostly independent shops and restaurants. People go to eat and appreciate the quaintness but most NoVA residents don't do that much shopping there.

Landmark would be less quaint, more chain stores, more of a place where the average person might visit to buy clothes, housewares, etc. It would keep the department stores, and add restaurants, offices, and new apartments to draw people in. It would be loosely modeled after Pentagon Row or Reston, and be competing with those locations, as well as Springfield and Tysons. One of the keys to the project is getting enough apartment and office space so that there are always people around to buy stuff and eat in the restaurants.

[oneasterisk]

Springfield mall is being revitalized, so Landmark better do something or it'll get further edged out the market. Landmark is not that far from Springfield so it'd be easy to draw the crowd to it.

Springfield Town Center | Springfield Mall is being transformed into a destination town center.

[pcity]

More tough news for Landmark: The Lord and Taylor in the mall is closing July 12th.

washingtonpost.com

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by pcity

More tough news for Landmark: The Lord and Taylor in the mall is closing July 12th.

washingtonpost.com

I wonder what else has to fall on the city's head before they move into action.

Hopefully I can snap a few pics of the new Peninsula town center in Hampton while i'm on my trip next week and post them so that Alexandria can have a little inspiration. Trust me both areas are very similar.