Why can't COS support a real mall? (Denver, Colorado Springs: rent, purchases)

[DrDog]

Originally Posted by gn3

Malls have no real appeal to me, as I don't shop recreationally. I'd rather just go directly to the store I want, or order online. I think Forbes has an online game where you can try to save dying malls. I guess they might have an advantage in very cold climates.

Not sure I understand. If you want to go to a store and that store is at a mall, you go? Or you don’t go?

[gn3]

Originally Posted by DrDog

Not sure I understand. If you want to go to a store and that store is at a mall, you go? Or you don’t go?

The mall doesn't have anything I can't get elsewhere, so I happily avoid it.

[Willy702]

How many of you visit Park Meadows on a weeknight outside of holiday season? Its a different story. More people in the restaurants than shopping when the weather is nice. That's a regional mall for you (IKEA too), its busy on Saturdays because people from all over the region drive in and make it seem like "wow what a thriving place, why don't we have one here?"

I remember avoiding IKEA for about the first 6 weeks it was open, but finally went in on a Saturday and it was still pretty crazy with traffic controls and all. Get into the lot and while walking to the door realized there were more out of state plates than Colorado plates. People driving in from South Dakota to buy stuff, what a great model. I went back a few weeks later to get something else on a Wednesday night and it was empty and hardly any out of state plates.

How does any business support itself on a day and a half of good business and then slow business the rest of the week? I'm guessing what COS has during those slow days just isn't enough to keep the place open. Maybe a rethink of mall hours would make something sustainable. Never understood why malls didn't close or at least open much later during weekdays.

[kristie73]

Park Meadows is meant to support a large area - more than just Denver. There are more stores around there that I'd like to see in Colorado Springs, but everyone is right, I don't think our city can support a high end store...enough. Of course incomes are higher around Denver. Even with the lower end stores struggling here. (Sears and JC Penney).


Retail stores (Sears, JC Penney, Macy's) need to evolve if they are going to stay relevant.


Although, I appreciate having retail stores available if I need them immediately or to return something I ordered from them online, I tend to just shop online for clothes, shoes, random stuff. I get too frustrated in the mall, stores. I can't find what I'm looking for. I'm walking back and forth trying to decide on something. They don't have my size or color in the store etc. I do like the act of window shopping, walking in malls, getting in some exercise, discovering something new, etc. So I'd hate for that to totally go away. But I'm not doing that often because I don't have the time.


I will shop occasionally at the Citadel, Chapel Hills, and the Promenade to go to a specific store. I don't shop at any of them more than the other. If the store I need is there, and I'm in that area, then that's where I'm going.


I do like the idea of malls becoming more than just shopping.


I think Colorado Springs is getting a new "mall" in the area though. The area at Interquest and Voyager, Victory Ridge? Not sure how we'll support all these retail buildings if we all just order online? So the stores need to attract people in a different way to come in buy from their brick and mortar store.

[Jobster]

[phetaroi]

I suppose that's supposed to be conclusive evidence as to why COS can't support a real mall.

But it doesn't address the issue of why we keep building miles and miles of strip malls.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

I suppose that's supposed to be conclusive evidence as to why COS can't support a real mall.

But it doesn't address the issue of why we keep building miles and miles of strip malls.

Because people seem to like stores near to their homes and go shop at them and no one prevents developers from developing pretty much where they want - a strip mall is a lot easier to develop than an enclosed mall. And these days, there seem to be more people who prefer to go in and out of a single shop than to wander around an enclosed mall if they're going to shop in person vs. online.

[COcheesehead]

I currently live in Douglas County, supposedly the third most affluent county in the country, behind two counties in the DC area. We have vacancies in the strip malls even. Retail is declining. The more recent vacancies sit empty. The ones from a few years ago have been filled with dental offices, a bank, a doc in the box and a Jimmy Johns. All the rest sit there.

[Mike from back east]

I've said it for years, on here and other sites, that America just has too many stores. The consumer economy is said to be about 70% of our national economy but who can buy with wages that have been stagnant for decades. Last year, worldwide, 82% of the wealth created went to the top 1% which leaves precious little for the average person to spread around on discretionary purchases and that ends up as vacant retail space.

I've seen this coming for a long time, every drugstore and supermarket stock each others items. My Walgreens is the size of the Acme market my Mom shopped in 60 years ago.

[orngkat]

Just made my first trip to the Powers corridor. Yuck!!!