Posted on November 16, 2017
To create destinations that captivate shoppers beyond mere retail purchases, owners have dramatically transformed malls by investing more than $8 billion in renovations over the last three years. JLL’s new report, A New Mall Rises, explores 90 super regional and regional malls that are currently undergoing or have gone through a significant renovation during that time period.
“Malls must respond to changing shopper preferences with laser focus and evolve their purpose through redevelopments to be relevant,” said John Lambert, director of retail development for JLL. “Many of the 90 properties we looked at are elevating their role beyond purely shopping and becoming destinations for dining out and entertainment, community activities and even lodging and residential.”
The capital improvement upgrades fell into five main categories:
- Forty-one percent of malls added food and beverage options, and of those, 55 percent also added entertainment offerings.
- Forty-three percent of malls are adding non-retail uses including multifamily, office, hotels, call centers, schools, distribution centers and/or medical facilities.
- Twenty percent of malls are dedicating space to the community including open green spaces and kid-friendly play areas.
- Ninety-four percent of malls are getting a makeover through common area improvements, rebranding and/or making tenant upgrades.
- Twenty-two percent of malls are de-malling the space or demolishing it for the highest and best use in the community.