Discussion on:

Haunting images of deserted shopping malls

These images are really...something. The fact that they had operated and closed meant that so many people lost jobs and opportunities when they shut down. But I guess it's really a wake up call that current lifestyle is very outdated and we need to look for other methods of sustainable economic progress.

I hope many people who view this images share the same thought as I do that it is more than necessary to update and adapt our lives to the current economic and social situation of the country.

Juan Miguel Ruiz (Going Green)
http://www.GreenJoyment.com

It is sad to think most of these communities would oppose the opening of light industry on these sites even though it would provided jobs and goods made in the USA.

They are stuck in the past. They want retail back or nothing.

Locally we have seen several such NIMBY fights already over closed malls.

America has roughly twice the retail space per-capita than anywhere else on earth. (We don't make stuff anymore, but we sure enjoy buying) Where I used to live in California, there was 6 major-sized malls within 5 miles of each other with countless strip malls and big-box retailers in between. The idea was always that people would come from all over to our city to shop while never considering that every other nearby city would have plenty of their own malls as well.

The fact of the matter is that there is no way we can shop enough to justify this much retail space. Between the time I was born and the time I left, I saw countless acres formerly occupied by manufacturing converted to retail.

And I think @Hates Idiots above nailed a big part of the problem; even light manufacturing frequently garners fierce NIMBY opposition while everyone seems happy with more retail. This is in spite of the fact that most of the jobs created by retail are of the relatively low paying minimum-wage type. Cities are easily sold on them because they are sold on hopes of large sales tax returns, which rarely materialize as promised because of competition with other malls, and barely mitigate the congestion costs of the rest of the city.

A few miles from where I now live sits a recently closed auto plant. Auto manufacturing is leaving the cities and is not coming back. (They're all being built in mostly rural areas down south) There's a big debate over what this property should be redeveloped as. Mixed use, a football stadium, another mall; all kinds of cool sounding stuff. Manufacturing of any kind was never on the list.

Last year, our county was found to be negotiating to backstop a loan to redevelop the property as, you guessed it, retail! This is despite the fact that our part of the county is already experiencing an over 40% vacancy rate for retail properties! Just what we need. Fortunately (to the disappointment of the real estate brokerage community that mostly backs this nonsense) people figured out what was happening and that it was eventually going to be paid through even higher property taxes and put a stop to the madness. Advocates argued that this was to be a great "investment" for the county. If this was to be such a wonderful investment, then why did it need to be backstopped by a taxpayer bond?

"We don't make stuff anymore"

Actually we still make for more than anybody else on the planet, including the Chinese. Our output is still near an all-time high. And right now, we manufacture about 45% more than the Chinese, although they will probably catch up -- which they should, given their much greater population. See http://blog.american.com/2011/01/the-demise-of-america%E2%80%99s-manufacturing-sector-has-been-greatly-exaggerated/

...but as a percentage of what we consume, we do not.

These photos look great, but it's hardly a new phenomenon. The original Saturday Night Live cast had a series of sketches about the Scotch Tape Store & it's neighbor, The Puppy Store, in a dying mall.
Retail development is a science - an imperfect 1, but still numbers driven. Where people live, how much they make, how much retail space is already available. Sometimes there's competing projects starting simultaneously so there's an oversupply at completion. But the more usual story is change - sometimes with the demographics of the area, sometimes in the sort of space that retailers want. Downtown storefronts were supplanted by enclosed malls that were then supplanted by big box centers. Now some big boxes are standing empty & the next thing might be on-line retailers who don't need stores. A trend toward livable neighborhoods may drive demand for smaller grocery stores, like the UK based Fresh & Easy chain, in larger numbers than supermarkets.
In real estate as in life. Change happens - adapt or die.

Malls were interesting until they proliferated so much that every mall had the same stores and same atmosphere. My guess is that what helped contribute to the demise of some malls is the idea of staying home and shopping on the internet. The prices online are cheaper than going to a brick and sticks building.