Retail Traffic Magazine reports that the indoor mall, long declared dead, has weathered the storm of the recession better than expected -- and better than many retail concepts imagined as the next big thing.
Elaine Misonzhnik writes, "In the first quarter of 2010, regional malls posted an average vacancy rate of 6.0 percent, a 130 basis points below the vacancy rate for specialty centers and 170 basis points below the vacancy rate for U.S. retail space overall, according to a report from the CoStar Group, a Bethesda, Md.–based research firm."
Why? One interviewee explains that many traditional malls were built at a time when the prime locations were still available and they continue to benefit from the demographic draw.
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