‘The old playbook is being thrown out the window’: Malls are rethinking what anchors should look like

As department stores leave malls, owners are becoming more creative with what to do with the large spaces left behind. 

Eastridge Center shopping mall in East San Jose is looking to reinvigorate an over 260,000 square foot space that Sears left behind by potentially turning it into a Vietnamese indoor market. At MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California, an American Ninja Warrior Adventure Park opened in July featuring obstacle courses — think: monkey swings, spider walls and tilting logs — based on the ones seen on the show. Meanwhile, Oxmoor Center in Louisville, Kentucky is trying to turn 28,000 square feet of space in its second floor into an office space...

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RSK: Comes down to three things: Office amenities; shop for groceries, other retail, take in a movie after work, restaurants for lunch and diner, other entertainment during breaks, maybe even some day care and health care....all under one roof. Possibly living in some apartments as well? Malls have become mini convenience cities and that is what will save them.

Ken Notes: It is about the event at the destination. From retail to entertainment it is now about the experience not the product!