Cnn
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American shopping centers have never been dead. Several decades’ design just needed to be revisited.
Shopping centers formerly housed department stores, until the convenience of electronic commerce distances buyers and Drive to closures. But consumers are the most attracted to the value and immediate reward for purchases, which has prompted certain developers to completely reorganize the retail sales experience. They reconfigure shopping centers so that consumers can live in the stages of their favorite stores or restaurants.
The “Live, Work, Play” model for mixed use – which combines apartments, fitness clubs, hotels, medical centers, office units, restaurants and shops – offers an alternative to conventional shopping centers, according to Ray Wimer, practical retail teacher at the University of Syracuse.
“It’s not just the retail. It brings entertainment places, many restaurants and apartments or condos to engage with a younger consumer, “said Wimer.
Less than 30% of shopping centers are “at level A”, which means that they make more than 400 sales per square foot, said Wimer. These shopping centers are doing well, he said, but others seek to reinvent themselves. A few made a return of the cocovide-19 pandemic.
New developments for mixed use are far from the standard shopping centers that took shape in the 1970s. The shopping centers for mixed use retain an assortment of retail stores and catering options, but these traditional basic foods share Now a space with banking branches, blood centers, police stations, income preparation services and even residences.
Approximately 46% of the redevelopments of the shopping center are for mixed use, according to a 2023 Analysis by the real estate service giant Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). Shopping centers traditionally have “anchors” – often giant department stores like Sears and Macy – Stimulate pedestrian traffic to help small businesses generate sales. NOW, According to JLL, around 30% of the shopping center redevelopments are residential and almost 54% of mixed redevelopments integrate housing, according to JLL.
Apartments and condos in shopping centers attract young professionals and empty nest workers, according to Josh Schrier, executive vice-president and director of investments at the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), which emerged from bankruptcy in April 2024 and Now develops around 2,000 housing units for mixed use projects in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.
“It certainly brings this younger cohort to these properties. They are looking for a community, a place to collect and fun things to do, ”said Schrier.
This is why the determination of retail and attractive goods is important for the mixed use model, explained Joe Aristone, executive vice-president and income director at PREIT.
One of the basic agreements for mixed use shopping centers is apartments with medical facilities.
In the south of New Jersey, Cooper University Health Care has renovated an old Sears in the Moorestown shopping center in a three -story outpatient center which opened in 2023. In addition to the retail options of the shopping center, An apartment building of 375 units will start construction this year.
A similar shopping center is developing in Seattle, where the Virginia Mason’s medical pavilion Franciscan Health is part of the Northgate Station Mall, according to its owner, Simon Property Group, with plans to open a multifamilial building of 234 units in 2026.
Another popular choice. The Macerich’s Flatiron Crossing Mall in Colorado has plans for the Hifi – a neighborhood center with restaurants, retail shops and entertainment alongside a five -story residential community. He should start some openings in 2026, according to his website.
The old stores have also been converted to accommodation.
AvalonBay Communities, a real estate investment trust, has 15 communities in such mixed use districts – and has opened Avalon Alderwood placed inside a center In the suburbs of Seattle of Lynnwood.
The cost of a luxury apartment At the shopping center varies from $ 1,860 for a studio at least $ 3,885 for three rooms, according to the Avalonbay website.
“What we see in these communities is a demographic population looking for an accessible life on foot and urban, with amenities at their door,” said Katie Bucklew, vice-president of mixed use and development at Avalonbay.
For some tenants, such a lifestyle can be both environmentally friendly and practical.
“With mixed use, you can get rid of cars completely and make it a place for walking, cycling and public transport,” said Shlomo Angel, professor of urban planning at New York University.
The original concept of the shopping center looked like mixed use centers, with plans for post offices, libraries and other services, said David Glover, world leader for mixed use at Gensler, an architecture and design company . Moving to retailers was finally more profitable, he said.
“These places that were tlered as just buying something should now be part of this new state of mind that we live, live,” said Glover.
Although the addition of living and work spaces increases pedestrian traffic, it is also necessary to increase the “residence time” or the duration of the visit of a consumer, according to Aristone de Preit.
This can be resolved by adding restaurants or hosting brand pop-ups for engagement.
Shopping centers are also attractive to generation Z, which are looking for more “pleasure”, according to a National Retail Federation Report. This means focusing on beauty and athletics stores like Lululemon, said Stephen Lebovitz, CEO of CBL Properties, which has 55 shopping centers and points of sale in its portfolio. Six of them include multifamilial housing that will total more than 1,500 units, said Lebovitz.
“The beauty of the shopping centers is that they have very strong locations and that they have established traffic networks, infrastructure and a critical mass around them,” said Lebovitz.
Community hike and other factors
The main argument against mixed developments tends to be increased congestion of traffic, according to Richard Peiser, real estate development teacher at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Existing communities can also be resistant to more people who move or work closer to the suburban areas, said the angel of Nyu.
Sewage systems, education systems and other infrastructure must be taken into account for communities before developing mixed use, said Vanessa L. Deane, assistant clinic professor and urban planning director at New University York. But DEANE too noted the advantage of mixed use developments in reducing the carbon footprint of a community.
“With any development, you must think of the impact on surrounding land uses,” added Deane. “If the existing infrastructure cannot support the project, there could be a problem.”
And those who plan to rent an apartment In a mixed shopping center, might want to weigh the drawbacks.
The high volume of people can mean limited intimacy, as well as the congestion of walking and parking. There could also be a lack of natural and outdoor light options. Some units are smaller because residents use equipment throughout the building, said Schrier de Preit, which can be more affordable. Micro-units can lack kitchen equipment such as ovens and stoves, or cleaning devices such as dishwasher, washers and dryers.