((PKG)) DECLINE OF MALLS
((Banner: Changing America / Decline of Malls))
((Reporter/Camera: Deepak Dobhal))
((Map: Alexandria, Virginia))
((NATS))
((Jack Browand, Local Resident))
Walking around here today, it's kind of surreal to see how dead it is.
((NATS))
((Jack Browand, Local Resident))
You do remember how vibrant it once was, particularly when it first reopened. It was pretty much a bustling mall and it was very crowded and used quite extensively. I actually rented my tuxedo for my senior prom from the tuxedo shop that was up here when it was the old outdoor mall.
((NATS))
((Jack Browand, Local Resident))
There was also an ice cream parlor, I remember, up here. So, you know, I did probably pick something up to eat here. I do have a lot of memories, particularly growing up. I mean, this mall opened up in the late or mid-sixties. I was born in the late sixties. I have never been probably more than three to four miles away from the mall. It would be a place where we would come to get together with your friends or just hang out. You still long for some of that stuff.
((Pop-up Banner: The U.S. shopping mall boom began in the 1970s, fueled by a growing suburban population))
((Mark Bulmash, The Howard and Hughes Corp.))
There were just too many malls in this area servicing the population. I think fundamentally in the United States, we overbuilt the amount of retail here. Our retail square footage per capita is three to four times what it is in any other developed country around the world. Fundamentally, it was unsustainable. Online retail made things even worse.
((Pop-up Banner: Around 500 shopping malls have closed in the U.S.))
((Mark Bulmash, The Howard and Hughes Corp.))
And that happens a lot in capitalism and other places, right? We overdo it. It gets dialed back. People make adjustments to succeed.
((NATS))
((Pop-up Banner: Hundreds of malls across the U.S. are being repurposed.))
((Mark Bulmash, The Howard and Hughes Corp.))
Now we see it as an opportunity to create this great master plan mixed-use project.
((NATS))
((Mark Bulmash, The Howard and Hughes Corp.))
We will compete differently. It won't go head-to-head with these large malls.
((NATS))
((Mark Bulmash, The Howard and Hughes Corp.))
It'll be more about servicing the community’s needs with things like theaters and health clubs and restaurants and things of that ilk.
((NATS))
((Mark Bulmash, The Howard and Hughes Corp.))
You're also going to see a strong emphasis on placemaking, on gathering spaces and creating opportunities for people in the community to come together in one place.
((NATS))
((Jack Browand, Local Resident))
I think people are right now, they're ready to see something new, see this place come alive. I guess we're looking at the start of a new beginning. It was in better shape than I thought but also, you know, pretty lonely walking around the mall by yourself. You don’t know really what to think when you are walking around in a space that big that’s completely empty.
((NATS))
((Banner: Experts believe that another 250-300 malls will either fail or will be repurposed in coming years.))
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