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The Mall


Westside Steve

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So I pretty much understand the death blow to a lot of malls which are somewhat near the inner city areas that have extended public transportation to the front door. On the other hand there are some very nice malls still in operation. For example Belden village and the one nearest my home Summit mall.

 We occasionally go for a walk at summit mall and I wonder how in the world they stay open? Here's the reason. It seems like it would be very expensive to keep the lights on especially with store after store after store full of stuff that doesn't seem like it's flying off the shelves. Also the demographics seem to be mostly high school girls and young folks from the hood.  They don't particularly act rowdy and don't seem to cause any problems but it doesn't seem like they have all that much disposable income. The only place that seems busy is the Apple store which will have security guards and a line out the door. Some of these stores must be making money and paying rent. Hard to imagine how.

WSS

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1 hour ago, Westside Steve said:

So I pretty much understand the death blow to a lot of malls which are somewhat near the inner city areas that have extended public transportation to the front door. On the other hand there are some very nice malls still in operation. For example Belden village and the one nearest my home Summit mall.

 We occasionally go for a walk at summit mall and I wonder how in the world they stay open? Here's the reason. It seems like it would be very expensive to keep the lights on especially with store after store after store full of stuff that doesn't seem like it's flying off the shelves. Also the demographics seem to be mostly high school girls and young folks from the hood.  They don't particularly act rowdy and don't seem to cause any problems but it doesn't seem like they have all that much disposable income. The only place that seems busy is the Apple store which will have security guards and a line out the door. Some of these stores must be making money and paying rent. Hard to imagine how.

WSS

The "Go-to" brand new mall in Austin circa 1971 (Highland Mall) is now a ghost town after it closed it's doors in 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Mall

 

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26 minutes ago, TexasAg1969 said:

The "Go-to" brand new mall in Austin circa 1971 (Highland Mall) is now a ghost town after it closed it's doors in 2015.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Mall

 

We have had numerous malls go under:   near us:  Rolling Acres Mall in SW Akron....and also  Randall Park Mall in Warrensville Hts.  east of Cleveland  have both been torn down and converted to new Amazon Distribution centers.   Perhaps that is appropriate  because maybe it is the like of  Amazon that has actually been the death knell of the Malls.  Also in Akron, Chapel Hill Mall is all but belly up, if not already closed.  

As Steve said,  it seems the malls nearer the inner cities are the ones that have gone under...which include  Rolling Acres, Chapel Hill, Randall Park.   Others that are in more "Affluent" areas still seem to be carrying forth:    Summit Mall in Fairlawn,  South Park Mall Strongsville;  Beachwood Place,   Severance Mall...I assume is still operating.  

The Galleria and the Tower City downtown.....not sure of their status.   Not much there any more I suspect.  (been a long time since I have gone into either.

But, the old "Strip" shopping centers that were predominant pre mid 60s...pre Mall, certain have not seemed to suffer.

The big thing that I can figure is that at a strip center, you can basically drive up to the door to the place you want to shop,  where at a mall you have to get out and walk around.

Is it really just pure laziness that has doomed the malls?  (plus, I know in the case of Rolling Acres it WAS  the gangs of yutes that would hang out there, and there were attacks in the parking lot, so that intimidated people and kept them away. 

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At the mall you can still pretty much drive up to the anchor stores. It just doesn't seem to me that the demographics that hangout of the mall have enough money to keep the doors open.

 Also there are  no stores to get stuff you actually need. Groceries hardware office supplies,  even cheap day-to-day crap like at the dollar stores.  And unlike a strip mall target and wal-mart usually have a little bit of everything you would need.

 I do think bringing public transportation to the front door was at least 1 or 2 nails in the coffin, much like the flats.  People who ride the bus are usually the biggest spenders in the store.

WSS

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Malls around here are starting to die.  CBL, a top mall operator around the country is headquartered here, they filed bankruptcy.

 

Funny how what goes around comes around with all the outdoor shopping much like Crocker Park in your area. We have ours.  I remember as a kid when Westgate and Great Northern were open air strip centers. Westgate had stores on both side.  The only comfort provided was covered walkways so you didn't have to trudge around in the rain.  That was big time!

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The malls have one thing going for them property and lots of it....... now what to do with it.

In EJ DeBartolo's old pride and joy the Southern Park Mall in Boardman Ohio with his statue in it is slowly shrinking to nothing.  Dillards is closed JCP is next maybe MACY'S and they demolished my favorite old store SEARS and have converted it into somekind of outdoor entertainment whatever.

Sad.

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The Sears at our biggest mall is turning in to some sort of Marriott hotel.  It's located right off I-75 and there are a lot of hotels in the immediate area, so I guess it makes some sense.

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20 minutes ago, The Gipper said:

The closest mall to me has been completely torn down in the Amazon distribution center built in its place.

Amazon with a big boost from the pandemic and before that Walmart has changed the retail picture in America forever.

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17 minutes ago, mjp28 said:

Amazon with a big boost from the pandemic and before that Walmart has changed the retail picture in America forever.

Yea,  and that is why I said it is appropriate that the Amazon distribution centers sit where some malls used to be:  Randall Park,  Rolling Acres.   What about in your area?  What happened to the malls there? 

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21 hours ago, The Gipper said:

Yea,  and that is why I said it is appropriate that the Amazon distribution centers sit where some malls used to be:  Randall Park,  Rolling Acres.   What about in your area?  What happened to the malls there? 

The Eastwood Mall in my old hometown of Niles Ohio owned by the Carfaro family is doing great but they were smart and put that class A baseball park behind the mall which until this year was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians plus they put in hotel directly in the complex and others surrounding the mall area.  They have had some of the same problems that other malls have had but have come through.  Lots of restaurants and it is a beautiful mall.

The Indians will miss that 20 year connection with Eastwood Field,. Niles/Akron/Columbus was nice.  CC Sabathia, Victor Martino and others started there.

The SP Mall in Boardman Ohio doesn't have all of that and is slowly dying.

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I used to walk to Great Northern mall in North Olmsted after high school. We would sit at the high top tables in the middle of the food court and smoke and eat Baskin and Robbins ice cream

Yes, back then you could smoke indoors

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1 hour ago, Browns149 said:

I used to walk to Great Northern mall in North Olmsted after high school. We would sit at the high top tables in the middle of the food court and smoke and eat Baskin and Robbins ice cream

Yes, back then you could smoke indoors

Is that Mall still there?  (North Olmstead, right?) 

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9 hours ago, The Gipper said:

Is that Mall still there?  (North Olmstead, right?) 

I think so. But I haven’t lived there in almost 3 years

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2 hours ago, Axe said:

Senile as ever.

You are the one exhibiting that trait, as you seem to have been all  Alicia over the Amazon  humorous comment.   I was referring to the fact that a lot of closed malls are now being turned into Amazon distribution centers.  Flew right over your head. 

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8 hours ago, The Gipper said:

You are the one exhibiting that trait, as you seem to have been all  Alicia over the Amazon  humorous comment.   I was referring to the fact that a lot of closed malls are now being turned into Amazon distribution centers.  Flew right over your head. 

No, I just don't read your bullshit unless you quote me. And I'm about to stop bothering with that.

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On 5/5/2021 at 10:27 PM, Axe said:

One of our local malls shuttered up last Friday.

 

I'm waiting for the Bus loads of illegals to start rolling in

Aren’t they all stuck at the border?

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