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Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

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Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#71

Post by excalibur »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #67
excalibur wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adults-only entertainment venue. Fill it with bars, bowling alleys, hookah lounges, marijuana dispensaries (where legal), dance clubs, adult bookstores, places that rent rooms by the hour, other places where you can sleep it off more cheaply with maybe less privacy. Car keys deposited at the door into a machine that won't release them until you pass a breathalyzer.

> Car keys deposited at the door into a machine that won't release them until you pass a breathalyzer. So, basically, "don't bother coming here because you can't leave"? You'd need to make sure it was either accessible by public transit, or that there's cheap and effective semi-public transit like Lyft or taxi cabs - and it has to be cheap and effective for two trips, since you'll have to come back to pick up your ca…

Those things already serve most shopping malls. The idea was that the venue would provide everything people needed to keep them happy until they sober up, but they would of course be free to leave by means that don't involve DUI.

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#72

Post by niftich »

guyzero wrote: post #47
projectramo wrote: post #2

I remember learning that in the 90s some companies had this useless asset: gas pipelines that spanned the country, but had dried up and were not being used. Other companies had a problem: how to acquire the rights to lay fiber from one end of the country to the other. Some very smart person realized you could lay the fiber in the old pipes. Question: what can be done with all that retail space? Is there a new use of…

Zoning can be an issue - there's an abandoned mall in Cupertino that's probably half a mile from the new Apple HQ. And to say it's prime land is an understatement - the entire area is desperate for new housing. Current proposal is for 2,400 housing units on the land. But previous zoning proposal that were ballot initiatives got defeated (hurray democracy) and it's required a state bill to force the city's hand for zo…

Residential vs. non-residential zoning always tries to tilt towards non-residential, because it has a better potential of return.

Although both pay property taxes and both require utility services like water, sewer, and waste collection, non-residential properties attract both in-town residents and outsiders from other jurisdictions, who then typically spend some money in your town. Meanwhile, residential attracts new residents, who may or may not take jobs in your town, could be spending money in other towns, but need high-cost social services like public schools and community programs in your town.

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#73

Post by selimthegrim »

ortusdux wrote: post #68
codingdave wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could be a whole new flavor for YC or other incubators - don't come to SF and fight to find housing... come to the new Coding Mall - offices are in the East Wing, apartment in the West Wing, demos and sales kiosks in the former Sears, VC offices in the former JC Penney, and everyone meets up in the food court (which is still running, btw, to keep everyone fed) for informal discussions.

I was in Cleveland over the weekend and got a quick tour from the director of small business development. They turned one of their Arcades (malls) into a small business incubator. It made for a quirky shopping experience. There was a peanut cookie shop next to a handmade bow-tie store. Parts of it felt like walking through Etsy. The tour concluded with several business that had spun off into their own locations. It s…

Which mall was this? Randall? Parmatown? Tower City? Arcade sounds like one of the old downtown ones....

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#74

Post by jschwartzi »

jessaustin wrote: post #21
kozikow wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would move into such place.

Living in such place I would be plagued by zombie attack nightmares...

Just hire Ving Rhames to provide security. Problem solved.

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#75

Post by technologia »

selimthegrim wrote: post #73
ortusdux wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in Cleveland over the weekend and got a quick tour from the director of small business development. They turned one of their Arcades (malls) into a small business incubator. It made for a quirky shopping experience. There was a peanut cookie shop next to a handmade bow-tie store. Parts of it felt like walking through Etsy. The tour concluded with several business that had spun off into their own locations. It s…

Which mall was this? Randall? Parmatown? Tower City? Arcade sounds like one of the old downtown ones....

I think it is this one: http://www.flashstarts.com/ Looks like it is near Tower City

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#76

Post by duxup »

There are several nice fancy style strip mall type places near me. All of them reportedly have sky high rents and several are largely empty and have been for years and all cycle through stores at a surprising rate. They keep up the malls just fine as if they're occupied, but they're mostly empty.

It seems like such a waste to not have something operating in there.

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#77

Post by nighthawk1 »

excalibur wrote: post #58
projectramo wrote: post #2

I remember learning that in the 90s some companies had this useless asset: gas pipelines that spanned the country, but had dried up and were not being used. Other companies had a problem: how to acquire the rights to lay fiber from one end of the country to the other. Some very smart person realized you could lay the fiber in the old pipes. Question: what can be done with all that retail space? Is there a new use of…

Adults-only entertainment venue. Fill it with bars, bowling alleys, hookah lounges, marijuana dispensaries (where legal), dance clubs, adult bookstores, places that rent rooms by the hour, other places where you can sleep it off more cheaply with maybe less privacy. Car keys deposited at the door into a machine that won't release them until you pass a breathalyzer.

Give the people what they want!

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#78

Post by heartbreak »

wlesieutre wrote: post #33
foobarian wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A local mall in Natick MA recently lost one of their anchor stores (JCPenney) and replaced it with a Wegman's, which the first I saw a supermarket as an anchor store. I would love to know how desperate they must have been or how sweet of a deal they gave Wegman's to make this happen.

If I had a Wegman's I'd go to the mall. They're in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, but seem to have something against Connecticut. :( On the malls note, the Chapel Square Mall in downtown New Haven got turned into apartments before I moved here. It's weird and seriously depressing looking, though I haven't seen the interior courtyard area myself. There has to be a better way to do it than this:…

Wegman's are further south as well. There are multiple in Virginia (NoVa, Richmond, Charlottesville).

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#79

Post by duxup »

guyzero wrote: post #47
projectramo wrote: post #2

I remember learning that in the 90s some companies had this useless asset: gas pipelines that spanned the country, but had dried up and were not being used. Other companies had a problem: how to acquire the rights to lay fiber from one end of the country to the other. Some very smart person realized you could lay the fiber in the old pipes. Question: what can be done with all that retail space? Is there a new use of…

Zoning can be an issue - there's an abandoned mall in Cupertino that's probably half a mile from the new Apple HQ. And to say it's prime land is an understatement - the entire area is desperate for new housing. Current proposal is for 2,400 housing units on the land. But previous zoning proposal that were ballot initiatives got defeated (hurray democracy) and it's required a state bill to force the city's hand for zo…

I remember traveling to work to the valley for the first time and driving by Apple HQ just to see it and then, going to the steakhouse near that mall (OMG was it good). I went by that mall and was thinking

"WTF is this doing here with all this insanely expensive land and such!?!?!"

I would half expect the bulldozers to show up with 10 minutes notice or something. I was driving around all amazed by "OMG I know all these cool companies!" .... "What the hell...."

Re: Mall landlords struggling to find takers at a price they’ll accept

#80

Post by Tiktaalik »

heckanoobs wrote: post #16
projectramo wrote: post #2

I remember learning that in the 90s some companies had this useless asset: gas pipelines that spanned the country, but had dried up and were not being used. Other companies had a problem: how to acquire the rights to lay fiber from one end of the country to the other. Some very smart person realized you could lay the fiber in the old pipes. Question: what can be done with all that retail space? Is there a new use of…

The land is probably more valuable than the building configuration. It's a little different from the pipe example in that way. You can't easily tear up the pipes and do something else with the pipeway, but you could demolish a mall and build an entire live/work district.

Yeah the land is valuable. The building (and sea of parking) on it is built using last century thinking.

Rezone and densify, and build a mixed use walkable community of residential commercial and office.

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