-
Come For The Food Court, Stay For The Education
-
What do you do with a mall anchor store when the store closes? We're running out of retailers looking for a box at the end of an enclosed mall -- Macy's is already in every mall, Sears and JC Penney are on the ropes, and there are only so many Nordstroms and Van Maurs to go around -- so malls finding themselves with an empty anchor are looking for alternatives, and here's one that's happening in a mall that's far from dead: Southdale, the venerable upscale mall near Minneapolis, is replacing a closed Herberger's with a municipal library branch. Another anchor slot that's open there, a former JC Penney, is going to be a LifeTime Fitness, which is also a nice alternative to a department store. Come on, what other ideas for those spaces can you think up? Because maybe there's life in malls yet, just not as a place to only buy stuff. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Have an opinion? Add your comment below.