An Analysis of Southdale Center by Alejandro Loza

Alejandro Loza ARCH 5435

Shopping Malls in the 21st Century: An Analysis of Southdale Center and the Future of the Mall

The traditional shopping mall as it exists today has increasingly become a relic of the past. Physical brick-and-mortar business has been on a steady decline as onlinebased retailing has established itself as the new norm. With as many as a quarter of all existing malls predicted to close within the next decade, the shopping mall is in serious danger of becoming irrelevant and obsolete, as changing economic conditions and consumer habits turn away from the conventional shopping experience.1 This is a reality that all shopping centers face, even those that were pioneers of the shopping experience in their heydays. What has led to this seismic change in the retail landscape? What are malls doing today in order to stay relevant and compete with the digital realm? And what may the future hold for existing shopping centers?

To understand the decline of the shopping mall and brick-and-mortar businesses in general, it is important to recognize how dramatically the retail landscape has shifted just in the past few years alone. Since 2017, a number of well-known established brands have had to reduce their operations, restructure their business models, file for bankruptcy, or completely shut down altogether. This includes such legacy brands like Toys ‘R’ Us, Herberger’s, Payless Shoes, Radioshack, and the ongoing protracted death of Sears. The successive collapse of retailers both big and small has led to what many have dubbed ‘the retail apocalypse’.2

Malls Are Doomed: 25% Will Be Gone in 5 Years. CNNMoney. Cable News Network, June 2, 2017. https://money.cnn.com/2017/06/02/news/economy/doomed-malls/index.html. 2 Here's A List Of 81 Bankruptcies In The Retail Apocalypse And Why They Failed. CB Insights Research, December 11, 2019. https://www.cbinsights.com/research/retail-apocalypse-timeline-infographic/.

A timeline of major retailers that have gone bankrupt since 2017 Sourced from https://www.cbinsights.com/research/retail-apocalypse-timeline-infographic/.

What is responsible for this decline? Many point the finger to online e-commerce giants like Amazon, which has come to dominate the retail environment over the past decade, generating over 80 billion dollars’ worth of sales in 2017 alone.3 Others point to shifting consumer preferences among younger generations who don’t have as much disposable income as previous generations and who increasingly prioritize experiences over materialism.4 Others put the blame on mismanagement and poor business strategies, including inefficient operational practices, lack of a robust online presence, and the accumulation of massive debt, hampering retailer’s ability to adapt and compete.5 Whatever the causes may be, the results have been devastating for traditional retail businesses and shopping malls, and it seems none are immune from this ongoing decline. Even stalwarts like Mall of America have had to grapple with the retail contraction, as two of its four major anchor stores have gone under within the past decade.6 It seems inescapable that the traditional shopping mall is falling out of favor with the american public in general, but it wasn’t always this way. In fact, there used to be a time in which the shopping mall was seen as a radical innovation and hugely popular.

The enclosed shopping mall as we know it today was originally devised as a response to the post-war urban deterioration and suburbanization of American society. Victor Gruen, an Austrin-born architect who is largely considered to be ‘the father of the shopping mall’, conceived of these spaces as community oriented ‘neighborhood centers’ which would combat the increasingly fragmented and isolated culture of living found in suburban enclaves, as well as what he viewed as the undesirable, automobilecentric strip malls of his time7. As he explained in his initial concept for the mall, “The shops and businesses would be housed in a single building that would surround a

Thompson, Derek. What in the World Is Causing the Retail Meltdown of 2017? The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, April 25, 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/retail-meltdown-of-2017/522384/. 4 Ibid. 5

Here's A List Of 81 Bankruptcies In The Retail Apocalypse And Why They Failed. CB Insights Research, December 11, 2019. https://www.cbinsights.com/research/retail-apocalypse-timeline-infographic/. 6 Sears to Close Mall of America Store as It Faces Possible Liquidation. Twin Cities. Twin Cities, December 29, 2018. https://www.twincities.com/2018/12/28/sears-to-close-mall-of-america-store-as-it-faces-liquidation/. 7 Gruen, Victor, and Anette Baldauf. Shopping Town: Designing the City in Suburban America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017.

landscaped, pedestrian-only courtyard. The facade of the building would be of a pleasant and modest design, without logos, and would not disrupt the residential character of the surroundings… The buyers would not enter the individual shops from the street side, but go through the parking area to the courtyard… So the buyers would be able to stroll along past the shops, enjoy the park-like atmosphere of the patio, and otherwise pursue their business, all the while completely separate from automobile traffic”.8

Renderings for Victor Gruen’s proposed Southdale Center Sourced from http://www.gruenassociates.com/project/southdale-center/

Inspired by the vibrant urban environments of his hometown in Vienna, Gruen imagined these pedestrian-friendly spaces would bring vitality and social interaction to suburbanites who had escaped the deteriorating city core, and serve as a model of community development that could be replicated on a larger scale across America.9 And in 1956, Gruen was able to test his model with the creation of the first fully enclosed shopping mall in Edina, Minnesota10. Christened as Southdale Center, Gruen’s mall revolutionized the commercial shopping experience. Promotional ads for the mall advertised itself as a one-stop shopping destination for all the errands and

Gruen, Victor, and Anette Baldauf. Shopping Town: Designing the City in Suburban America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017. 9 10 Buildings That Changed America: Southdale Center. WTTW Chicago. PBS, July 9, 2018. https://interactive.wttw.com/tenbuildings/southdale-center. 10 Ibid.

needs of a busy shopper, emphasizing an abundance of services and conveniences, like the ability to get a haircut, pick up dry cleaning, do grocery shopping, and even going to the dentist, all within the comfort of a climate controlled structure.11 Features like natural vegetation, artistic sculptures, sidewalk cafe, and a bird aviary further enhanced the quality and desirability of the space.12

A promotional announcement for the forthcoming Southdale Center Sourced from Shopping Town: Designing the City in Suburban America

While some critics famously lambasted Gruen’s creation, including Frank Lloyd Wright who said the mall “had all the evils of the village street with none of its charms”, the public responded well to this new programmatic concept.13 Such was the success of Southdale Center that developers quickly imitated his concept, bringing new malls to suburban territories all over the country.

Gruen, Victor, and Anette Baldauf. Shopping Town: Designing the City in Suburban America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017. 12 10 Buildings That Changed America: Southdale Center. WTTW Chicago. PBS, July 9, 2018. https://interactive.wttw.com/tenbuildings/southdale-center. 13 Ibid.

Unfortunately, the massive proliferation of shopping malls in the preceding decades soon began to cause more harm than good. For one thing, developers often created their shopping malls as strictly retail based affairs, without any of the community based functions and programs that Gruen had emphasized in his original concept.14 Gruen had envisioned that the mall would include civic amenities like a post office, public library, doctor’s office, meeting rooms, and community centers, but developers instead chose to fill their malls with as many profit generating businesses as possible, unconcerned about the effects such hyper-capitalist ventures would have.15 Additionally, the growing spread of shopping malls into suburban fringes where land was cheap further exacerbated the sprawl that Gruen had hoped to combat, leading to more automobile-dependent developments and further drawing people out of the cities and into the suburbs16. Coupled with a change in federal tax law regarding depreciation that allowed developers to recoup their capital investment costs much more quickly, the amount of shopping malls being constructed boomed and became a highly profitable enterprise for many developers and investors.17 By the late 1980’s, as many as 15,000 enclosed, climate controlled shopping malls had been built across the country.18 Growing disillusioned at seeing how his idea had become corrupted by profit-hungry developers, Gruen later came to regret his part in introducing the shopping mall to the American societal landscape, famously saying “I refuse to pay alimony for those bastard developments”, disowning his own creation.19

For a few decades, the mall was the primary destination for middle-class families to shop and teens to socialize, and became a staple of suburban culture, ingrained in the American way of life. In many ways the mall became the new ‘religious ceremonial center’ of suburban living, albeit a very consumerist-driven one, a place that people 14

Gruen, Victor, and Anette Baldauf. Shopping Town: Designing the City in Suburban America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017. 15 Ibid 16

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Terrazzo Jungle. The New Yorker. June 19, 2017. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/03/15/the-terrazzo-jungle. 17 Ibid 18

Zepp, Ira G. The New Religious Image of Urban America: The Shopping Mall as Ceremonial Center. 2nd ed. Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 1997. 19 Gladwell, Malcolm. The Terrazzo Jungle. The New Yorker. June 19, 2017. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/03/15/the-terrazzo-jungle.

turned to in order to fulfill their needs, desires, and impulses20. As stated by prominent mall developers the Ghermezian brothers, who developed the Mall of America, the mall became “... a form of urban infrastructure catering to people’s lifestyle requirement and serving their social, physiological needs well as their material ones”.21

An interior shot of Mall of America, the largest consumerist shopping center in the country Sourced from https://www.jerde.com/places/detail/mall-of-america

Shopping malls enjoyed their heyday as the new ‘main streets of America’ up through the 1990’s, but with a glut of shopping centers having been built over this time, each competing for customers and dollars, it would create an unsustainable environment that would inevitably lead to a prolonged crash over the following decades.22 Compounded by economic recessions, shifting demographics and behavior, and the rise of online shopping, the amount of malls in operation in America drastically decreased from their peak in the 90’s to around 1,000 today23. 20

Zepp, Ira G. The New Religious Image of Urban America: The Shopping Mall as Ceremonial Center. 2nd ed. Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 1997. 21 Ibid. 22

Sanburn, Josh. America's Malls and Department Stores Are Dying Off. Time. July 20, 2017. https://time.com/4865957/death-andlife-shopping-mall/. 23 Ibid.

For the malls that have endured up to this point, how have they fared in the face of all this change? What have they done in order to survive and position themselves for the future? Southdale Center, the pioneering mall, is still around in 2019, and a lot can be learned from studying its legacy and current situation to figure out what the future may hold for the traditional shopping mall. As part of this research, I revisited Southdale Center in order to observe its present-day conditions and understand what, if any, changes it has undergone since my last visit nearly four years ago.

On my weekend trip to Southdale Center on Sunday, the 3rd of November, I took note of several transformations, as well as similarities, since my previous visit. My first impression of the mall was that from the inside, it looked very similar to what it had looked like before. In terms of interior aesthetics, the modern, upscale refresh that was introduced several years ago is still present, as are many of the same popular namebrand businesses and points of interest within the mall. What was noticeable however was how relatively light foot traffic was in the mall, not enough to feel busy, though not low enough to feel empty. I would have assumed that weekends were among its busiest days, but it was only moderately full this particular Sunday.

Interior shot of Southdale Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main court Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019

From walking around different areas of the mall, it is apparent that Southdale Center is facing troubles trying to fill some of its vacant tenant spaces. Throughout various locations, empty storefronts populated the interior concourse, with signs advertising leasing opportunities for prospective businesses. A look at the mall directory, as well as the lease plans from current owner Simon Property Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website, reveal a number of vacancies in Southdale Center.24 But in an era where commercial business is increasingly conducted through digital means, filling these physical spaces becomes a challenge, especially in less desirable areas of the mall.

A directory map within Southdale Center Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019 24

Do Business at Southdale Center, a Simon Property. Simon. Simon Property Group, 2019. https://business.simon.com/leasing/southdale-center.

For instance, the entire basement level in the northeastern section of the mall was completely empty. The dollar store and Gordmans which were previously here a few years ago were no longer around. The end of the corridor that fed into the Gordmans simply led to a closed storefront gate with a curtain draped over it. Any storefront signage that may have been down here was no longer present, only blank, non-descriptive, and aesthetically outdated storefronts. The only businesses still operating in this area were a dance studio and satellite office for the Susan G. Komen foundation, which were closed for the weekend. From my perspective, the hidden, outdated, and compact nature of the mallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basement level is not an ideal space for retail businesses to operate from and likely explains why this area has languished for so long.

View of the basement level concourse that previously led to Gordmans Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019

Additionally, the upper level of the mall still remains largely devoid of activity, except for a Dave & Buster’s at the end of the concourse where the mall’s previous food court used to be, and a couple of smaller tenants, a tailor and music store, opposite the concourse. A likely reason for the upper floor of the mall being so empty could be because of the way Dave & Buster’s partitioned the upper layout of the mall when they first arrived as a tenant. One side of the level’s walkway was closed off to make room for their establishment, creating an awkward configuration that leads visitors to the opposite walkway, which is a blank, darkened corridor that directs towards a side entry into Dave & Buster’s. Dave & Buster’s has apparently maintained some level of success judging from the amount of people there and appeared largely the same on the inside since my last visit, save for some new arcade machines.

View of Southdale Center’s relatively active 3rd floor and nearly empty 4th floor Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019

Southdale Center’s main food court at the eastern portion of the mall also appeared rather stagnant, as there were only a handful of fast food chains present in the area, which included a Great Steak and Panda Express. The remaining vacant spaces in the food court were either walled off or simply left bare. Few people were seated at the food court, but those who were there appeared to be casually chilling, with friends or on their phones and laptops. Several other high-end dining establishments scattered around the southern half of the mall appear to have fared more successfully, including Buffalo Wild Wings, P.F. Chang’s and the Cheesecake Factory, which was packed and busy when I went inside to see.

Interior shot through Southdale Center’s food court Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019

There were several new and unique tenants throughout the mall that I don’t recall having seen previously at Southdale. One was a DeLeo Bros. Pizzeria, a 1980’s themed casual restaurant with 80’s pop culture memorabilia and several retro arcade games, located at the southern wing of the mall. Only a few customers were there when I passed by it. Another interesting tenant on the second level of the mall was a children’s play area called Bounce Town, which had a bouncy castle, inflatable slides, ball pits and other toys. Unfortunately, it seems no one was patronizing this business during my walkthrough. A similar tenant called Yard Games just off the food court had a similar but sparse collection of toys and games, like oversized chess and a bean bag tossing board, though this one did have a handful of families present inside. Perhaps the most interesting new tenant was a Hennepin County Service Center on the first floor of the mall below the food court. The Service Center provides services relating to driver’s licenses, motor vehicle registration, public records, and various permitting applications.25 The space looked quite modern, though it was closed on this day.

View of the Hennepin County Service Center inside Southdale Center Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019 25

Service Center Information. Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hennepin County. Accessed December 18, 2019. https://www.hennepin.us/your-government/facilities/service-center-info.

Perhaps the biggest notable change at Southdale Center since the past several years is the fact that it’s lost a handful of its major department stores. This includes the JCPenney formerly next to the food court and the Herberger’s at the southern portion of the mall. Not too long ago, these retailers were still humming along in the wake of the retail apocalypse, before Herburger’s suddenly called it quits and filed for bankruptcy and JCPenny pulled the plug on its underperforming Southdale location.26 With their closure, these large multi-level department stores have left huge voids behind that pose a challenge to fill with another typical retailer. But spaces like these also provide an opportunity for developers to experiment with creative and unusual uses for large, bigbox style floorspace, which the owners of Southdale Center are beginning to entertain.

The former Herberger’s department store space, now walled off Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019 26

DeBaun, Dan. Here's How Twin Cities Malls Were Doing - before Herberger's Clears Out. bizjournals.com. Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, 2017. https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2018/04/20/heres-how-twin-cities-malls-were-doingbefore.html.

For example, in what was previously Herberger’s department store, a Spirit Halloween costume store now occupies a portion of the space, which is only accessible from outside of the mall. Notably, many Spirit Halloween stores have been popping up in malls and big box stores across the Twin Cities. Earlier this year, Maplewood Mall recently had a Spirit Halloween store occupy a portion of their vacant Sears department store space, while another Spirit Halloween store has been occupying Rosedale Mall’s Herberger’s department store space for several seasons, and even turned the lower level of the site into a ‘Haunted Basement’ attraction for thrill seekers.27 While these concepts are mainly seasonal, it appears that pop-up businesses and attractions are among the newest trends finding accommodation at shopping centers.

Exterior view of the Spirit Halloween costume store occupying Herberger's former space at Southdale Center Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019 27

Ewoldt, John. Rosedale's Basement Is Now 'Haunted,' with Popular Halloween Attraction Opening Sept. 26. Star Tribune. August 9, 2019. http://www.startribune.com/rosedale-s-basement-is-now-haunted-with-popular-halloween-attraction-opening-sept26/530706172/.

Looking at the surrounding site, Southdale Center has also redeveloped portions of its vast parking lot with new buildings. This development has taken place at the outermost corners of the site, which now contain new housing and lodging complexes, and stand-alone businesses. The first development to have taken place on site, at the southeastern corner, was the creation of a new upscale apartment complex known as One Southdale Place back in 2014.28 Since then, a new four-story luxury hotel, Homewood Suites by Hilton, has been constructed on the northeastern corner of the site, providing extended stays for guests and potential out-of-town shoppers.29

A view of the One Southdale Place apartment complex on Southdaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s southeastern site corner Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019

Crosby, Jackie. Southdale Center in Edina Continues Transformation from Retail Hub to Lifestyle Destination. Star Tribune. September 20, 2019. http://www.startribune.com/southdale-center-in-edina-continues-transformation-from-retail-hub-to-lifestyledestination/560917762/. 29 Ibid.

On the northwestern corner of the site, a new Shake Shack burger restaurant has recently opened to the public, the second so far in Minnesota.30 And on the southwestern corner, a three-level Restoration Hardware store, an upscale home furniture and furnishings retailer, has been the latest addition to the site. Restoration Hardwareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new flagship gallery was designed as a showcase for their most desirable furniture and furnishing products and even includes amenities like a rooftop restaurant and bar for customers.31 By opening up all four corners of the site for redevelopment with new businesses, Southdale Center has found a creative and productive use for its previously empty lots, one which will spur additional traffic to the site and likewise additional foot traffic to the mall.

Southdale Center site development map, circa July 2019. North points to the right of this map orientation Sourced from https://business.simon.com/leasing/southdale-center

30 31

Nelson, Rick. Shake Shack Opening at Southdale on Tuesday, with a Monday Preview. Star Tribune. October 29, 2018.

Ewoldt, John. Restoration Hardware Moving to Southdale, Will Open with Rooftop Restaurant. Star Tribune. August 30, 2019. http://www.startribune.com/restoration-hardware-moving-to-southdale-with-luxurious-rooftop-restaurant/558717312/.

Perhaps the most anticipated development occurring at Southdale Center is the addition of a new Lifetime fitness club and office facility on the site of the old JCPenny department store space, which has just now opened in early December. Built at a cost of 43 million dollars, the resort-like facility contains typical athletic and fitness related programs like basketball courts, a soccer field, gyms and workout spaces, and several swimming pools, but also contains unique amenities like co-working spaces, restaurants, a spa, and even a rooftop â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;beach clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.32 This Lifetime hybrid concept aims to draw in an affluent mix of health-conscious clientele and could potentially spur a massive influx of new, well-to-do patrons to the mall itself.

Exterior view of the new Lifetime fitness and coworking facility at Southdale, nearing completion. Picture taken by Alejandro Loza, November 3rd, 2019

Norfleet, Nicole, and John Ewoldt. LifeTime CEO Says Luxurious New Club at Southdale Is Just the Beginning. Star Tribune. December 7, 2019. http://www.startribune.com/life-time-s-new-southdale-health-club-just-the-start-as-company-expands-more-intoapartments-mall-development-and-eventually-hotels/565901032/?refresh=true#6.

Additional major projects are slated to move forward within the next several years at Southdale Center. Perhaps the most intriguing is the replacement and opening of a new Hennepin County public library, to be located in a portion of the Herberger’s department store space. Hennepin County selected the mall as the new location for their Edina-branch library after determining that repairing and renovating their current 1970’s-era library facility a few blocks away would not be a financially feasible option in the long term, while the cost to construct a new building on their existing site would have been too cost prohibitive.33 It also makes sense synergy-wise for Hennepin, since the county’s Service Center is there as well, adding another layer of convenience for those who already utilize their services. Hennepin County and Simon Property Group are working together to renovate the former Herberger’s space for this library, with plans to move in by 2022.34

Rendering for a new Hennepin County library and grocery chain at Southdale Center Sourced from https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_current/community/southdale-library-move-gets-officialapproval/article_11ece13e-99b7-11e9-9ee3-ab421ac7784d.html

Along with the library, Southdale Center is in the works of bringing a Kowalski’s Market that is also expected to establish a presence in the remaining portion of the Herberger’s store space, serving local Edina residents with quality grocery products.35 33

Chanen, David. Hennepin County's Southdale Library Will Move to Southdale Center. Star Tribune. May 18, 2019. http://www.startribune.com/hennepin-county-s-southdale-library-will-move-to-southdale-center/510121512/?refresh=true. 34 Ibid. 35

And to top it off, the developers behind the Lifetime fitness club and office development have also just announced plans for a new 25-story, 300 unit, luxury apartment tower that would be located directly adjacent to the mall, incorporating the Kowalskiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Market space as part of its development.36 Though this proposal is still early in the works with developers and city officials, this potential addition would be a groundbreaking development for Southdale Center, as it would be the first time that any local mall in the region would have residential living attached directly to a commercial shopping complex.

Proposed rendering for a 25 story luxury apartment tower at Southdale Center Sourced from http://www.startribune.com/life-time-s-new-southdale-health-club-just-the-start-as-company-expands-more-intoapartments-mall-development-and-eventually-hotels/565901032/?refresh=true#6.

Overall, it seems that Southdale Center is making some key moves that will allow it to remain competitive and relevant in the consumer landscape of today. This upcoming mix of unconventional retail concepts, creative programmatic adaptations, 36

and new developments in and around Southdale Center are a sign of forward-thinking change, and will ensure that the health and stability of the mall is sustained for the long term. By diversifying its uses and embracing unique forms of development, Southdale Center will no longer be solely dependent on a limited range of traditional commercial retailers for survival, but instead have various direct and indirect programmatic and experiential attractions, potentially generating new modes of income for the mall. In some areas, the mall still feels somewhat in a state of limbo. Southdale Center continues to face issues trying to lease its smaller, more conventional tenant spaces out, and complications retrofitting some of its existing layouts to be more appealing to prospective businesses, who would rather tear down and build new. Additionally, the fact that there are still several competing malls in the region, including Mall of America, still the country’s largest shopping destination and the state’s most popular tourist attraction which sits less than 7 miles away, means that Southdale will face stiff competition for customers and dollars. Nevertheless, the future looks positive for Southdale if it continues to embrace new forms of business and experiences.

The developments occurring at Southdale Center are in line with the current industry-wide trend of readapting and repurposing existing malls from purely retail based shopping centers to a more mixed-use, experience based, ‘lifestyle’ model, one that satisfies the modern mantra of places to ‘live, work, and play’. Some malls have opted to convert their malls into more neighborhood-friendly developments, incorporating parks and greenspace, supermarkets, health and wellness facilities, offices, and market-rate housing.37 Other malls have opted to increase their entertainment and amusement options by introducing escape rooms, paintball arenas, indoor skiing, and even drone racing.38 Others are embracing completely new uses as community colleges, megachurches, solar farms, and data centers.39 In one ironic twist, E-commerce giant Amazon has even been converting abandoned malls into regional

Dunham‐Jones, Ellen, and June Williamson. Dead and Dying Shopping Malls, Re‐Inhabited. Architectural Design 87, no. 5 (2017): 84-91. 38 Ibid. 39

Ibid.

distribution fulfillment centers for its products.40 And even more amazingly, new malls have been recently constructed and are being proposed in some parts of the country. The most recent major mall to open, the American Dream Meadowlands in New Jersey, is comparable to the size of Mall of America, and includes two amusement parks, an aquarium, and an indoor ski slope, in addition to up-and-coming and high-end fashion retailers.41 An even bigger mall, called the American Dream Miami, is in the works by the same developer and has plans to overtake the Mall of America as the biggest mall in the country by 2025, with two-thirds of its space dedicated to leisure and entertainment options.42

Rendering for the American Dream Miami mall, slated to open in 2025 Sourced from https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article238364773.html.

Mourdoukoutas, Panos. Amazon Turns Shopping Malls Into Warehouses, Changing America's Community Landscape. Forbes. Forbes Magazine, May 25, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/05/25/amazon-turns-shopping-mallsinto-warehouses-changing-americas-community-landscape/#7e56a44265f4. 41 Bhattarai, Abha. Malls Are Dying. The Thriving Ones Are Spending Millions to Reinvent Themselves. The Washington Post. WP Company, November 25, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/22/malls-are-dying-only-these-ones-havefigured-out-secrets-success-internet-age/. 42 Juan, Rebecca San. The Country's Largest Shopping Center Is Coming to Miami-Dade. Finally, We Know When. miamiherald. Miami Herald, December 17, 2019. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article238364773.html.

Similarly around the twin cities, nearly every mall has upgraded their offerings in some way to establish new functions and attract new customers. After adding two hotels, an office tower, and a high-end luxury retail wing, the Mall of America is planning to add a 250,000 square foot waterpark facility to the site, further expanding its portfolio of leisurely attractions.43 Rosedale Mall has taken a similar step by adding an aquarium exhibit, as well as a new premium department store Von Maur, and now has even more ambitious plans to introduce a mixed-use residential development on site.44 Maplewood Mall on the other hand has taken a different approach and introduced the NorthStar Youth Outreach Center for homeless teens in need of shelter.45 They are also now working with the city on a long term neighborhood development plan, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;North End Visionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which plans on establishing new housing, public spaces, and transportation infrastructure on site for Maplewood residents.46 As evident by these ongoing changes, investing in new development, functions, attractions, and experiences have become a high priority for shopping malls across the country.

Proposed development site plan for Rosedale Mall Sourced from https://www.twincities.com/2019/09/30/rosedale-center-mall-expansion-to-include-housing-hotel-and-community-space

Schubert, Keith. Plans Updated for New Mall of America Water Park; Would Be among Largest in North America. Twin Cities. October 31, 2018. https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/30/mall-of-america-plans-for-new-water-park-get-upgrade/. 44 Duggan, J.D. Rosedale Center Mall Expansion to Include Housing, Hotel and Community Space. Twin Cities. October 9, 2019. https://www.twincities.com/2019/09/30/rosedale-center-mall-expansion-to-include-housing-hotel-and-community-space/. 45 Shaw, Bob. As Malls Struggle with Retail, More Are Embracing Alternative Occupants. Twin Cities. October 21, 2019. https://www.twincities.com/2019/10/19/as-malls-struggle-with-retail-more-are-embracing-alternative-occupants/. 46 North End Vision Plan: Maplewood, MN. Maplewood Minnesota. City of Maplewood, September 9, 2019. https://maplewoodmn.gov/1877/North-End-Vision-Plan.

With these developments, it seems that the future vision of what a mall should be has finally come full circle. When Victor Gruen first proposed Southdale Center, he envisioned it as a sort of new town square, a “pedestrian scaled urban community” which would host “many of the public rituals of traditional downtowns” including schools, clinics, offices, housing, and the like.47 Today, that is exactly where mall owners and developers are pivoting their strategy towards, by converting their spaces to accommodate residential apartments, fitness centers, grocery stores, office facilities, healthcare clinics, and other services that are a part of everyday life. Others are transforming into more tourist-like destination centers with a number of leisurely, entertainment, and amusement options, targeting more affluent customers. Regardless of what developers are doing with their malls, it is clear that relying purely on retailbased shopping experiences are no longer a viable strategy for survival. More than ever, malls must think outside of the box and embrace a new variety of programs, uses, and clientele in order to create unique experiences and conditions that will allow them to differentiate themselves from the utilitarian convenience of online shopping and encourage people to go out and visit the mall. Perhaps the mall isn’t quite dying yet, but rather evolving into its next phase of life. If they play their cards right, malls like Southdale Center and others have a good chance of remaining innovative, productive, and relevant well into the future, redefining what it means to go to the mall.

Upton, Dell. Architecture in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

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