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De-Malling: The New Alternative

By Oscar R. Rivera
December 30, 2004

In today's complex real estate world, shopping center owners are finding that redeveloping a shopping center may not be enough to remain competitive. Well-known retail analysts are commenting that consumers are tired of the mall concept that forces someone to wade through a department store to access an enclosed mall, when all they are really looking for is the quick purchase of a pair of shoes. Analysts, including PricewaterhouseCoopers and others, have concluded that as many as one-third of the nation's 1200 malls are obsolete, or nearly so. After decades of both owner and retailer consolidation, the 10 largest mall real estate investment trusts now control approximately 47% of all malls. About 20% of these are “D” level malls which should probably be de-malled. The Congress for the New Urbanism has called many of these lower-performing enclosed regional malls, “greyfields.” This is a comparison to “brownfields,” the term commonly used to refer to abandoned and partially contaminated commercial facilities.

This article will analyze some of the key players and some of the key issues that need to be considered when an owner decides to de-mall an existing center. The first critical decision that will have to be made is whether to have a partial or total de-malling. Both of these present advantages and disadvantages, as well as significant risks.

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