Dead Malls

A JC Penney store with a yellow CLOSING banner hanging from the roof.

Thousands of new homes are replacing Orange County's dead malls

Southern California cities are adjusting their zoning codes to support mixed-use and residential developments that are replacing dying shopping malls.

May 7, 2026 - The Orange County Register

Interior of two-story The Arcade Greek-style mall with glass arcade roof in Providence, Rhode Island.

You Can Live Inside America’s Oldest Indoor Shopping Mall

The Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island, first built in 1828, was redeveloped into 48 micro-housing units.

March 28, 2026 - Good Good Good

Large store in mall with yellow and black STORE CLOSING sign on front.

Shifts in Shopping: Transforming Malls Into Parks

Maybe zombie malls still have a second life — one with a little greenery.

December 8, 2024 - Ruscena Wiederholt

Entrance to Bayfair Center mall in San Leandro, California.

Mall Redevelopment in Silicon Valley

Dead malls across the Bay Area are being transformed into R&D centers, housing, and transportation hubs.

September 11, 2024 - SiliconValley.com

View form second story inside Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota with escalators and model cars parked on downstairs floor.

The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall

The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.

March 21, 2024 - Governing

Macon Mall sign outside of low-rise building in Macon, Georgia.

Former Georgia Mall Revived by Pickleball

Macon-Bibb County is converting the largely defunct commercial center into a civic complex with county offices and recreation facilities.

March 6, 2024 - Fast Company

Vacant mall with vast empty parking lot with cracked asphalt and Southwestern mountains in background.

From Department Store to Apartments

A former Sears store has a new life as a housing complex.

November 5, 2023 - Fast Company

Rendering of lifestyle center mixed-use complex

The Evolution of Retail Centers

Catalytic developments initiate economic and cultural improvements.

June 30, 2023 - Kurt Volkman

Four people playing pickleball on outdoor court

Can Pickleball Save Dying Malls?

The popular sport is getting backlash for taking over parks and other facilities. Now, the industry is partnering with mall developers to transform old department stores into pickleball courts.

May 29, 2023 - ABC 7 NY

Google maps street view of Burlington store in Daly City, California

To Meet Housing Goals, California Cities Turn to Mall Redevelopment

As brick-and-mortar stores decline due to the rise of e-commerce, cities look to mall sites as ideal locations for new housing.

July 18, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

Vacant Sears in suburban mall

A Second Life for the American Mall

‘Dead’ suburban malls, with their existing infrastructure, offer a variety of opportunities for redevelopment into everything from housing to parks.

June 12, 2022 - The New York Times

End of the Mall

Dead Mall? Convert it to a Health Clinic

Closed and struggling malls around the country are being repurposed as healthcare centers.

April 27, 2022 - Fortune

Department Store

Phoenix Mall Sold for Mixed-Use Redevelopment

The former Paradise Valley Mall will undergo a conversion to a mixed-use community with homes, offices, and stores.

April 7, 2021 - CNBC

End of the Mall

Can Mall Redevelopment 'Urbanize the Suburbs'?

Local leaders in Virginia are banking on mall redevelopment projects to revive their tax bases and create more mixed-use neighborhoods.

April 2, 2021 - The Virginia Mercury

Empty Mall

New Lives for Dead Malls

Suburban malls around the country are shutting down, and the huge spaces offer a variety of opportunities for creative reuse.

November 30, 2019 - The Washington Post

Mall Makeovers Have a Mixed-Use Flavor

Malls in metropolitan Atlanta are thinking outside the (big) box to reposition in the age of the retail apocalypse.

March 8, 2019 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Northwest Mall

Reclaiming Malls: How About a High-Speed Rail Station?

A Texas mall that opened in 1968 and largely closed ten months ago has been picked by Texas Central Partners as the Houston terminal of the Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail. The site is far from downtown and distant from public transit.

February 8, 2018 - Houston Chronicle

End of the Mall

How To: Makeovers for Struggling Malls

Lean Urbanism recently released a "lean" guide to sprawl repair—focusing on how to bring struggling shopping malls back to life.

March 26, 2016 - Lean Urbanism

South Mall Parking Lot

On the Life Cycle of Suburban Malls

Using Greenwood, Indiana as an example, Eric McAfee discusses how the value of individual suburban malls depreciates over time. Shiny new shopping centers compensate for inevitable vacancies in older ones.

November 14, 2015 - Urban Indy

End of the Mall

Life, Death, and Repurposing of the Great American Mall

A PBS Newshour economic correspondent visits the sites of former malls in Ohio and Massachusetts, some successfully repurposed, others in construction, and one in decay, speaking with economic experts along the way about the future of the mall.

December 5, 2014 - PBS NewsHour

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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