Too many Malls?

Borders Goes Bust: Are There Too Many Stores in America?

Excerpt:

Dan Gross describes it as "peak mall" theory, in this clip. "Have we reached the point where we have all the malls we're going to need?," he asks. E-commerce, coupled with the demise of "conspicuous consumption" as a result of the Great Recession could spell trouble for mall owners and commercial real estate in general.

Comments: Interesting article (with photos ... see links) from DeadMalls.com

Brookdale center was initially developed by the Dayton Hudson company shortly after Southdale, opening in 1962. The Mall featured wide corridors, and only had one level in contrast to the other malls developed from the Gruen model. Brookdale also differed from its counterparts in the Twin Cities area, as the area around the mall was substantially less well to do than the areas around Rosedale, Ridgedale, and especially Southdale.

At its peak, Brookdale had three anchors and over seventy other stores. A wing build in the early aughts brought a fourth anchor position and a food court. In 2004, Brookdale lost its first anchor. Within five years, there was near total attrition from the location. In April 2010, the mall was closed to the public. Causes of the closing include: the graying of the community, changing traffic patterns caused by new roads, the opening of new shopping centers, and the struggles of maintaining a public space.