Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am not an expert on malls, but Coronado has to be one of the most uncomfortable and hideous I have ever entered. I have seen shabbier ones, ones with more unsavory denizens, and ones with more physical hazards, but none that seemed to be architecturally designed and lighted to crush the human spirit as Coronado does. If a mall can use a remodel, it is that one.
Coronado use to be an open air mall, the single level side was the entire open air mall at one time. When it was enclosed in the mid 70's I believe, the entire two level section was added. This may be the reason it is as unattractive as it is, the quirky layout and lack of light or skylights on the single level side may be the reason.
I don't know how many times I've visited Coronado before I finally could get around without getting completely lost. Actually, it's just a matter of picking landmarks and consciously memorizing some locations, for me anyway. Maybe I'm easily mixed up.
As a long term visitor, I can say that the Uptown/Coronado section is the nicest part of the town, at least on the east side. The rest of the town is, sadly, depressed, so to speak. I live where the mall has been turned into an upscale mall to the point that it has nothing for me anymore. I can't even tell what the hell they are selling. Coronado is full of useful stores that you can actually shop.
Coronado Center has been successful in reinventing itself and bringing in new kinds of tenants and new stores. It's quite amazing to read back through this thread and see posts from earlier this decade disparaging Coronado Center and praising Cottonwood Mall. The tables and fortunes are turned now. Coronado is doing well even after losing anchors while Cottonwood Mall is being questioned as to whether it is a dead mall.
I said this elsewhere, but I really hope Coronado can fill up what was left of the Sears anchor space the way they did when it first downsized. They brought in The Container Store, new restaurants and entertainment venues like Escape the Room. I envision stores like Papyrus, The Art of Shaving, Fossil, etc., new-to-market restaurants like Joe's Crabshack, Ruby Tuesday, and entertainment venues like Flix Brewhouse or Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
Uptown Albuquerque overall is really doing well with its core sector of retail despite national trends. ABQ Uptown is adding new, hip stores like UNTUCKit and relaunched stores like Coldwater Creek. Winrock Town Center continues to take shape and diversify its offerings in the wake of losing stores like Toys-R-Us and Sports Authority, e.g. the new Chuze Fitness location and Men's Wearhouse.
The entertainment and restaurant sectors in Uptown are also doing well and the office sector is chugging along. Mixed-use projects are reshaping a few of the old office buildings and removing some of the dead weight. The residential sector is getting ready to experience a boom with 300 units planned at Winrock Town Center, 122 units at the Uptown Transit Center, and a 192-unit luxury apartment development across from Park Square. The hotel sector should also be expanding with a new hotel planned at Winrock Town Center.
Uptown Albuquerque will continue to be the preeminent center in the metro that brings together all these uses for many years to come.
As a long term visitor, I can say that the Uptown/Coronado section is the nicest part of the town, at least on the east side. The rest of the town is, sadly, depressed, so to speak. I live where the mall has been turned into an upscale mall to the point that it has nothing for me anymore. I can't even tell what the hell they are selling. Coronado is full of useful stores that you can actually shop.
Long live the mall! I would hate to see them all go the way of the Studebaker just because people "don't like brick and mortar malls anymore. This is the age of Amazon and buying and selling totally online."
Barf. Long live the brick and mortar mall! Our mall is alive but sort of on life support here in Alamogordo. We do have a Ross Dress for Less being built as I type this. A JC Penney's and a Beall's and Melrose. Several restaurants are inside the White Sands Mall. So I'm glad we have it.
If you have access to a mall use it and enjoy it. Even though Sears is on life support I preferred shopping for clothes and shoes at Sears. May they make a comeback! Shopping for clothes online is just plain...weird. I left out the word 'retarded' and used the word 'weird' instead. Both words work for the sentence, though.
The closest cool mall to us is the Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces. That is one sweet mall, it comes complete with a nice Barnes and Noble bookstore. Sweet.
[quote=elkotronics;55783467]Long live the mall! I would hate to see them all go the way of the Studebaker just because people "don't like brick and mortar malls anymore. This is the age of Amazon and buying and selling totally online."
Electronics, you and I would both like to see malls to do a robust business, but it ain't going to happen. Now that Amazon is entrenched, shopping habits have changed, and so has the future of malls.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
