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I found a study on this link that ranks shopping malls into three classes, with some of my own opinions on them.
Class "A" malls generally gross the most profitable returns and have a good number of quality retailers in them, typically at least one upscale department store and good tenants such as an Apple store, and are viewed as a positive draw for the region. There are some quality food options with a nice diversity and even some adjacent sit-in places. There is usually a good selection of entertainment options, from cinemas to play areas to some community events.
Class "B" malls are sort of the blue-collar version of the Class "A" mall, typically just anchored with Sears, JC Penney, and a Macy's, but with the Macy's lacking the quality stuff sold at the "A" malls. A dollar store is usually featured, but you'll still have stuff like Foot Locker, Radio Shack and perhaps a Victoria's Secret. Income returns are generally a mixed bag. There may be a few vacancies for some of the tenants, but only a few and all anchor spaces are open. An alternative tenant or two is possible as described under Class "C".
Class "C" malls are those that are struggling and at risk of becoming a dead mall. There may be sections of vacant tenants, an anchor vacant, and are generally seen as a negative draw for the region. Expect stuff like cheap jewelry/nail salons, dry cleaners, cell phone repair, and Burlington Coat Factory. Crime can be a problem, and the furnishings are generally in need of repair. But if crime isn't too bad, there are usually "alternative" tenants such as offices, community centers, healthcare clinics, and even laser tag outlets.
By extension there can be a select few class "AA" malls. In addition to providing everything than an "A" provides, there is usually a good selecting of high-end, exclusive retail. South Coast Plaza and the shops at Bal Harbour come to mind.
So, please post what class the malls in your MSA/region/state belong to, and with possible remarks, please.
1a. Bellevue Square - downtown Bellevue. Most upscale major mall in the region.
1b. Southcenter - Tukwila, Alderwood Mall - Lynnwood, Tacoma Mall - Tacoma. Large regional malls with a huge array of stores. All anchored by a Nordstrom and more.
1c. Northgate - north Seattle. A smaller 1b. mall. Anchored by Nordstrom and more.
2a. Capital Mall - Olympia, Kitsap Mall - Silverdale, South Hill Mall - Puyallup, Commons (SeaTac Mall) - Federal Way. Large regional malls with major anchors, no Nordstrom.
2b. Cascade Mall - Burlington, Everett Mall - Everett. Step below in size, quality as the tier above.
3a. Factoria Mall - Bellevue. Another step down in size, stores.
Ta. Lakewood Towne Center (former Lakewood Mall) - Lakewood, South Sound Center - Lacey. Former malls that have successfully transitioned into lifestyle centers with big box stores, etc.
Tb. Crossroads Center (former Crossroads Mall) - Bellevue, Hawks Prairie Center (former stillborn Hawks Prairie Mall) - less successful mall transitions that are now larger strip mall complexes
Da. - Supermall - Auburn. A large mall, full of outlet and mid-level big box stores.
Jordan Creek Town Center, West Des Moines: high-end A, one of the biggest malls in the Midwest, basically anchors the sprawling commercial core of the west suburbs
Valley West Mall, West Des Moines: solid B, this is the mall I go to in Des Moines; a normal mall for normal people
Merle Hay Mall, Urbandale/Des Moines: B or B-, it always feels dead compared to Valley West and Jordan Creek, but there's a lot of new activity in the mall's immediate neighborhood
Southridge Mall, southside Des Moines: C, they keep trying, but it's basically a dead zone
Kaleidoscope at the HUB, downtown Des Moines: C or C-, colossal waste of space, an absolutely failed experiment that has turned into one of the most embarrassing parts of downtown
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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The DC region would have to be done on a CSA level as we share suburbs and cross MSA boundaries to shop.
DC- Baltimore region:
Class A:
Tysons Corner Center/ Tysons Galleria (2 separate malls across the street from another)
Pentagon City
Annapolis Mall
Arundel Mills
Montgomery Mall
Columbia Mall
Towson Town Center
Potomac Mills
White Marsh Mall
Mazze Gallerie (by your definition possible tier 1)
Class B:
Dulles Town Center
Prince George's Plaza
St. Charles Town Center
National Harbor Tanger Outlets
Owings Mills Mall
Fair Oaks Mall (although contains Apple Store, Macy's, and Lord and Taylor)
Wheaton Plaza
Lakeforest Mall
Manassas Mall
Class C:
City Place
Beltway Plaza
Iverson Mall
Mandowmin Mall
Forestville Mall
There are many others i cannot think of but these are what come to mind.
Also there are a number of malls in the area being torn down and transformed into urban town centers.
Malls currently being redeveloped: (All at least Class B level malls once re-developed)
Springfield Mall/ Town Center
Landmark Mall
Laurel Mall
White Flint Mall
Ballston Commons
Lakeforest Mall (eventually to be redeveloped)
Last edited by the resident09; 04-08-2014 at 02:41 PM..
The DC region would have to be done on a CSA level as we share suburbs and cross MSA boundaries to shop.
DC- Baltimore region:
Class A:
Tysons Corner Center/ Tysons Galleria (2 separate malls across the street from another)
Pentagon City
Annapolis Mall
Arundel Mills
Montgomery Mall
Columbia Mall
Towson Town Center
Potomac Mills
White Marsh Mall
Mazze Gallerie (by your definition possible tier 1)
Class B:
Dulles Town Center
Prince George's Plaza
St. Charles Town Center
National Harbor Tanger Outlets
Owings Mills Mall
Fair Oaks Mall (although contains Apple Store, Macy's, and Lord and Taylor)
Wheaton Plaza
Lakeforest Mall
Manassas Mall
Class C:
City Place
Beltway Plaza
Iverson Mall
Mandowmin Mall
Forestville Mall
There are many others i cannot think of but these are what come to mind.
Also there are a number of malls in the area being torn down and transformed into urban town centers.
Malls currently being redeveloped: (All at least Class B level malls once re-developed)
Springfield Mall/ Town Center
Landmark Mall
Laurel Mall
White Flint Mall
Ballston Commons
Lakeforest Mall (eventually to be redeveloped)
What about Bowie Town Center, Reston Town Center, or that large mall in Hunt Valley?
The DC region would have to be done on a CSA level as we share suburbs and cross MSA boundaries to shop.
DC- Baltimore region:
Class A:
Tysons Corner Center/ Tysons Galleria (2 separate malls across the street from another)
Pentagon City
Annapolis Mall
Arundel Mills
Montgomery Mall
Columbia Mall
Towson Town Center
Potomac Mills
White Marsh Mall
Mazze Gallerie (by your definition possible tier 1)
Really? I would classify most of those as B level malls. Tysons, Annapolis, Columbia and probably Pentagon City are about the only really good high end malls in the DC area.
1. Ross Park Mall - Serves Pittsburgh's increasingly wealthy northern suburbs, and has also become a regional destination due to the presence of Nordstrom and dozens of other upscale retailers including, but not limited to, Ann Taylor, Armani Collezioni, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Burberry, Crate & Barrel, Godiva Chocolatier, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, L.L. Bean, L'Occitane, Louis Vuitton, Lucky Brand Jeans, Michael Kors, Pottery Barn, Teavana, Tiffany & Co. and Williams-Sonoma. The mall also features a Cheesecake Factory and a California Pizza Kitchen. Less than a mile up McKnight Road, The Shoppes at Northway will soon be given a boost with upscale outlet stores like Nordstrom Rack and Saks Off 5th, plus Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant.
2. South Hills Village - Serves Pittsburgh's wealthy southern suburbs along U.S. 19, but is smaller than the average mall with only three anchors, and no place to put a fourth anchor without gutting the mall. As a result, it lacks an upscale anchor like Nordstrom, as well as many of the upscale stores that tend to cluster around it, but the mall remains very profitable, and it does feature an Apple Store, Teavana, and, later this year, the second Primadonna Collection in North America (the first is actually in the city of Pittsburgh in the neighborhood of Shadyside). About a mile up Washington Road is The Galleria of Mt. Lebanon, which is a mini-mall with upscale stores such as Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, Godiva Chocolatier, Orvis, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma.
3. The Mall at Robinson - Serves Pittsburgh's growing western suburbs. It features all your standard mall retail, like Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, etc., but nothing upscale. Be that as it may, the mall is healthy with few (if any) vacancies. Besides serving an area that's growing in both population and income, it also has two other advantages: One, it's the nearest major shopping destination to the Weirton/Steubenville area, which is just 25 miles to the west on U.S. 22, so it's not uncommon to see West Virginia and Ohio plates in the parking lot, especially on the weekends. Two, it has an IKEA nearby, which is a regional shopping destination since the nearest IKEAs are in Detroit and Cincinnati to the west, and Philadelphia and Washington DC to the east.
4. The Waterfront - Serves Pittsburgh's East End neighborhoods, as well as the lower Monongahela River Valley and adjacent southern suburbs. This was Pittsburgh's first (and so far only) stab at a "lifestyle" center, and it's been a general success despite some criticisms about its layout, due primarily to the fact that it's located right across the Monongahela River from Pittsburgh's rapidly gentrifying East End. It features Macy's, Costco and Dick's Sporting Goods, plus several other standard mall stores, and it also has a strong restaurant and entertainment component, with Bar Louie, P.F. Chang's, Omaha Steaks, Dave & Buster's, and an AMC Loews Theatre with a liquor license.
5. Monroeville Mall - Serves Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs, and is actually a bit of a pop culture icon, being featured in movies like Dawn of the Dead, Flashdance, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The Waterfront has siphoned away some business, and the renovations it received 10 years ago were half-assed, so the mall has seen better days, but I don't believe it to be at risk for two reasons: One, it's the epicenter of the only major shopping area in Pittsburgh's eastern suburbs, which gives it some extra gravity. Two, the north end of the mall was recently reconstructed to include an H&M and a Cinemark theater, which means the mall is adapting.
6. Westmoreland Mall - Serves Westmoreland County and the Laurel Valley. Westmoreland County is the largest and second-most populous county in the metropolitan area, so Monroeville Mall is not an option for everybody there. Westmoreland Mall has all the standard mall stores, and is the largest shopping mall in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area outside of Allegheny County. It's also the only major shopping destination in the heavily populated Laurel Valley, which includes parts of Fayette and Indiana Counties as well. One potential disadvantage that the mall has to deal with is that the area it serves has been rapidly declining in population despite an influx of people from Allegheny County.
7. Pittsburgh Mills - Serves the Allegheny River Valley, and is the newest mall in the Pittsburgh area. It was the last mall built in the United States by the Mills Corporation before they declared bankruptcy. I was skeptical of the plans for this mall, being that it's located in a rather thinly populated area of Allegheny County with relatively low incomes, but it seems to be treading water, and my guess is because it gets a fair amount of business from the "Kiski" area of northern Westmoreland and southern Armstrong Counties. One potential advantage is the reconstruction of PA 28 in the city of Pittsburgh, which could open up more of the Allegheny Valley to future development, but I still get the sense that the mall was overbuilt, and it wouldn't surprise me if an anchor gets whacked eventually.
8. Beaver Valley Mall - Serves Beaver County and the Ohio and Beaver River Valleys. Beaver County has just enough population to support its own mall, though it's beginning to show some signs of weakness. All the standard mall stores can be found here, but there are a handful of vacancies, a couple of nail salons, and a few atypical tenants as well. Its location halfway between Pittsburgh and Youngstown sounds ideal, but it's no long as ideal as it'd seem. The Mall at Robinson has siphoned away some business, and so have The Shops at Boardman Park near Youngstown, albeit to a lesser extent. The population of Beaver County is slowly declining, but the more pressing concern is relatively low incomes in the area. Because of this, it's in the most danger of all the stable malls in the Pittsburgh area.
9. Washington Crown Center - Serves Washington County. Despite having four anchors and being relatively small, this mall still has a disconcerting number of vacancies and atypical tenants. The main problem is its location in the city of Washington, which itself is not large enough to support a shopping mall. TO make matters worse, there's nothing but sticks to the south and west, and the wealthy suburbs up I-79 and U.S. 19 are closer to South Hills Village. At least the owners of the mall haven't given up on it yet, getting a deal done with Ross Dress For Less to open there later this year, but we'll have to see if that helps stabilize business. As it is right now, it's down, but not out.
10. Century III Mall - Serves Pittsburgh's downtrodden southern suburbs along PA 51, plus the mid-Monongahela River Valley. When it opened, this was one of the largest malls in the United States, but little did anybody realize that the nearby Monongahela River Valley would soon become ground zero for the deindustrialization of the United States. The southern suburbs away from the valley still had enough population to support the mall for another 10 to 15 years, but three things happened that ultimately sealed its fate: One, the economic collapse of the Mon Valley resulted in severe population decline and ghettoization, which led to income destruction and an increase in crime. Two, the renovation of South Hills Village siphoned away the remaining middle- and upper-middle-class shoppers. Three, the opening of The Waterfront siphoned away several tenants. Today, the mall is literally half-empty, with many atypical tenants to boot. This mall is moribund, and there's likely no saving it.
11. Washington Mall - Serves Washington County. Now that the last anchor has closed, this mall is effectively dead. The renovation of nearby Washington Crown Center was the beginning of the end, and the only reason this mall didn't die last decade is because JCPenney had to move back in after relocating to a shopping plaza built on unstable ground. I expect this mall to eventually be torn down and converted into a "power center," which is basically a strip mall with a large number of big-box retailers.
Class A malls, shaded in BLUE, are upscale and highly profitable. Class B malls, shaded in GREEN, are solid performers, steady as they go. Class C malls, shaded in YELLOW, are still viable but have challenges. Class D malls, shaded in RED, are dying.
Dead and gone malls include Allegheny Center Mall, Parkway Center Mall, Eastland Mall and Greengate Mall.
Really? I would classify most of those as B level malls. Tysons, Annapolis, Columbia and probably Pentagon City are about the only really good high end malls in the DC area.
The OP said that "B" level mall have a dollar store and serve a blue collar audience. Using that definition I'd argue that not only do those malls all belong on the A list, but several on the B list could be bumped up. Dulles Town Center, for example, has Nordstrom, Macy's, Swarovski, and Lord & Taylor. Yes, they have a Sears and the stores are not as upscale as at Tysons, but at the same time there are a couple of nice spas, a perfumerie, a shop selling expensive sports collectibles, several art stores -- and no Dollar Store.
Maybe there should be an A- or B+ category?
Reston Town Center is almost entirely upscale stores, so I'd put it n the A category.
Real "C" malls are actually not as common as they were about 10 years ago. For the DC/Baltimore area, Laurel Mall in its last 10 years before being torn was a true "C", with just about the entire second floor vacant. Generally speaking, a mall most downgrade from a "B" in order to become a "C" that gives you the "this has seen better days" or "I'll only shop here if I have to" feeling. Generally speaking, if the mall still survives and has some stores opening but is listed on deadmalls.com, it is a "C" mall.
But still Owings Mills was an "A" mall in its early years once containing a Saks Fifth Avenue until the Metro soon downgraded it to a B. Depsite that, there is still some decent stores such as a Zales, Victoria's Secret, H&M, and a Macy's. So despite its deadmalls.com listing, it still has enough to qualify for a "B". Despite plans for closure, that mall is still open.
I also mentioned a select few "AA" malls, and I feel Tysons with its Galleria section earns that distinction. For the Philadelphia region, King of Prussia is another "AA", with a similar selection of stores to Tysons.
Others for the DC/Baltimore area:
Eastpoint (near Essex/Dundalk east of Baltimore): A classic "B" example on the lower end of the B range. No upscale stores and just JCPenney and Sears, but seems to be holding its own in a very blue collar area, and not listed on deadmalls.com.
Francis Scott Key Mall (Frederick): High "B". Being Frederick County's only remaining shopping mall and located near some major highways and a MARC station, this mall is pretty decently located and does have a Macy's that's almost as good as those found in "A" malls. It does have a Value City furniture like at Eastpoint however.
Town Mall of Westminster (Westminster): Solid "B". This is to Carroll County to what Francis Scott Key is to Frederick County. However, Westminster is a more isolated small city that is fairly far from an expressway, so it doesn't get as much region traffic as Francis Scott Key. Has one of the northermost Belk stores.
Harford Mall (Bel Air): Another Solid "B" that is the lone mall near the county's largest city, and competes with nearby strip-and big box centers nearby. On the small side however, with just Sears and Macy's.
Security Square Mall (Woodlawn): This mall is unique in the region since it has a number of Asian chains in and around it, and is in a rather Asian-populated area. It has a Sears and Macy's, but also a number of alternative businesses as described above and a Burlington Coat Factory nearby. But another "B" mall overall.
Spotsylvania Town Centre (Fredericksburg): Low A. This is the largest mall between Potomac Mills in Prince William County and Virginia Center commons in Richmond's northern suburbs. It has Sears, JC Penny, Macy's, and Belk as the anchors. But it is part mall and part lifestyle center, yet it functions well and is a good draw for the area. It's also right off of I-95.
Chicago area has a zillion places to shop, but only one A Class Mall with 300 shops and four levels. It is in Schaumburg, a Chicago suburb. There is Apple, upscale shops, and also a hotel on site. It is convenient. One does not have to walk far to shop, eat, or sleep.
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