Seems like just yesterday the American shopping mall was as essential a part of the consumer culture as eight-track tapes, polyester and Astroturf. But much like those 1970s artifacts, the notion every other suburb needed a colossal shopping mall as its chief drawing card has gone the way of bell-bottoms and the corner Fotomat.
Over the past two decades, more than 1,200 malls nationwide have closed their doors. Emergence of ecommerce and a growing preference for walkable open-air “lifestyle centers” have contributed to the realization malls need a complete rethink to regain their relevance. Many entities – from urban planners to design firms to consultancies – are at work blueprinting potential new takes on the once-beloved mall.
“Retail is shifting from a transactional model to an experiential one, where thoughtful design fosters a blend of commerce, culture and community,” says Scott LaMont, CEO and principal of EDSA, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based design firm specializing in planning, landscape architecture and urban design. “By reimagining commercial centers as dynamic, multi-purpose environments, we can create places that invite people to stay, connect and engage beyond the traditional shopping experience.”
Indeed, a well-conceived plan to extend their mission beyond mere shopping characterizes the most successful retail environments, according to Kona Gray, EDSA principal and 2025 president of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).
“They cultivate a sense of place by blending retail and entertainment with experiences, community gathering spaces and multi-use programming,” he says. ““This creates vibrant lifestyle hubs that evolve with the community’s needs, ensuring long-term relevance and vitality. Whether it’s transforming an anchor store into an entertainment venue or turning a stormwater pond into a waterfront dining district, smart design ensures these spaces have a lasting impact.”
Future shape
The mall is likely to take any number of forms in the coming years, say observers. One format already emerging is the work-play-live environment, with multifamily residential, co-working spaces, entertainment settings and retail. Example: the major conversion of Edina, Minn.’s Southdale Center, the nation’s very first enclosed mall, into a “one-stop shop” for living, dining, shopping and exercise.
A collaboration between architectural firms JP2 Architects and RSP Architects, the effort will involve renovations that both honor and update the mall’s original 1956 mid-century modern design, while adding to a vacant section of the mall fitness, retail, coworking and an indoor sports complex.
Green and eco-friendly transformations are also coming to malls. Some emphasize sustainability by integrating green spaces and eco-friendly infrastructure. The result is a setting that enables community interaction while limiting environmental impact. The parking lots at South Florida’s Aventura Mall were repurposed for this role, as were waterfront areas like the District at the Gardens in West Palm Beach.
Conversion of malls into cultural and hospitality venues is another idea being tried. A one-time Bristol Mall anchor store in Bristol, Va. has been transformed into the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino hospitality and entertainment hub. Since its opening, the property has attracted more than 100,000 visitors to a previously vacant parcel of real estate.
Halls of ivy
In addition, former malls can be morphed into academic and research assets. One such example will be seen at the empty Westside Pavilion mall in Los Angeles. The original plan was to have architectural firm Gensler transform the lifeless mall into an office campus for Google.
Instead, it will reincarnate as a research park for the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). The university purchased the 700,000-square-foot mall site, situated a scant two miles south of the UCLA campus, about 18 months ago.
It plans to house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA, and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, in addition to programs across the disciplines, in the park. An intended $500 million investment from the State of California, with $200 million allocated, helped make the acquisition possible.
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