{"id":467212,"date":"2022-06-24T17:40:03","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T14:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-make-malls-matter-again\/"},"modified":"2022-06-24T17:40:03","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T14:40:03","slug":"how-to-make-malls-matter-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-malls-matter-again\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to make malls matter again"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e0b6538c80\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2e0b6538c80\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-make-malls-matter-again\/#%E2%80%9CHow_to_make_malls_matter_again%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How to make malls matter again&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_to_make_malls_matter_again%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How to make malls matter again&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            For starters, they could house much-needed community services\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n                                                                        <em>Andrew Gallici<\/em><i> is a Toronto-based retail design director at Gensler, an integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm. Gallici believes there will always be a need for malls\u2014but he\u2019s also embraced online shopping.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I have a very long history with malls. <\/span>Before embarking on a 30-year career in retail design, I actually worked in sales and visual merchandising for 12 years at Eaton\u2019s in Toronto\u2014a long-dead Canadian department store. Have you ever seen the show <i>Superstore<\/i>? That was pretty much me; I just had better taste. Since then, I\u2019ve worked on projects for national banks, big-box chains and luxury brands, like Canada Goose and Holt Renfrew. You could say retail is very much a part of my personal fabric.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I love the act of shopping, but I\u2019ve come to hate the shopping centres themselves. I\u2019ve always believed the retail experience should be less throwaway and more meaningful than it is. There\u2019s a real opportunity for malls to evolve away from formulaic collections of shops with food courts tacked on. They can be mixed-use <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> enterprises, ones that fulfill the needs of their respective communities and don\u2019t simply consume the resources of the people who live in them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Even before the pandemic, malls were struggling, and a Deloitte report released in June of 2020 showed that foot traffic in Canada\u2019s 10 biggest malls was down 42 per cent from just a year earlier. Down south, it\u2019s been estimated that a quarter of U.S. malls will close in the next three to five years. Amazon has even expressed an interest in turning shuttered Sears stores into fulfillment centres. The pandemic certainly expedited the growing conversion of brick-and-mortar businesses to e-commerce. I don\u2019t think malls are dead; what\u2019s changing is the expectation of what they should or could be. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I would advise against wholesale teardowns: not only are they a bad idea from an environmental perspective, but I can guarantee you people would just say, \u201cLet\u2019s build 20 more condo towers here.\u201d That\u2019s not to say we couldn\u2019t demolish part of the mall for a beautiful park or green space, but the notion of repurposing an existing mould is far more responsible. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Instead, the mall\u2019s infrastructure could be used to help citizens. There should still be room allocated for retail, but we need to balance how much of a mall\u2019s square footage is required to run a financially successful operation, and how much of it can be filled with resources that benefit the greater good. For cities and towns that need health infrastructure, malls could offer dedicated wellness blocks consisting of smaller, independently owned fitness facilities, healthy food offerings, labs and individual medical practices\u2014not just vitamin stores and juice bars. In areas lacking affordable housing, part of the mall might interlace not-for-profit spaces with geared-to-income units in the vein of Artscape\u2019s lofts in downtown Toronto.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Given how expensive it is to build schools, <span class=\"s2\">smaller towns could take a page from Toronto Metropolitan University and Seneca College in North York and build educational facilities adjacent to\u2014or <\/span>directly into\u2014the mall\u2019s layout. On the <span class=\"s3\">cultural front, maybe these malls of the fu<\/span><span class=\"s2\">ture have dedicated theatre space for live performances and festivals, or host rotat<\/span>ing art collections that might otherwise <span class=\"s2\">be housed in smaller, less-trafficked gal<\/span>leries.<br \/>As homes in urban areas become increasingly vertically stacked, there is also a growing need for storage space that isn\u2019t relegated to suburban warehouses. I\u2019ve had many conversations with clients about the potential to leverage today\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> to create more efficient storage facilities in a mall\u2019s unused or basement space. The possibilities really are endless.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>MORE:\u00a0\u201cI want to unionize as many Starbucks as I can get\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p2\">These newer, more socially conscious malls would still need to be managed: two of my former clients were members of retail councils in the United Kingdom. Here, those would be akin to a business improvement area, which is a potentially useful model in this case. As with BIAs, part of these theoretical mall councils would have to be made up of community members with broad expertise\u2014across the culture, education and health care sectors, for example. They\u2019d need individuals who know which resources the area is missing. And let\u2019s not forget about the actual residents themselves.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I am still a believer in benevolent dictators: the council would certainly benefit from a board of directors and input from developers who know how to create successful business plans. They\u2019ve been in a rote retail mindset for a while, to be sure, but they still know how to make money and execute on a vision. The mall\u2019s revenue model would also have to change: the current one typically involves a retailer paying a base rent, plus a percentage of sales going back to the landlord. Perhaps this new model involves a financial partnership that gives back to local municipalities.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">At a high level, amping up the mall\u2019s civic usefulness is also a way to restore its original cultural function\u2014as a communal <span class=\"s3\">gathering space. From 2006 to 2007, I lived in the United Arab Emirates while work<\/span>ing on Dubai Festival City, which was then planned to be a 600-store mall. (This would be considered a small shopping centre in the U.A.E. by today\u2019s standards.) <span class=\"s3\">I remember being fascinated by the way lo<\/span>cals would treat <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>s to the mall as family activities. It wasn\u2019t about spending $5,000 on designer purses, though you very well could have. People would make a whole night of the visit, entertaining their kids at the indoor playgrounds and arcades, eating meals at seasonal night markets and meeting up with friends. Granted, they may have also been there for the air conditioning, but the outing seemed to be more about the social component in a way that it has not been for Canadians in a long time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I think a big problem is we\u2019re still labelling a mall with one function: purchasing. If we can successfully develop mixed-use centres out of what were once single-purpose shopping malls, the necessary social cohesion can return, even in the post-pandemic, omnichannel world of retail. This change would also draw more diverse visitors to the space. Maybe one person goes there to look at a home, while another heads there for a concert. Maybe a young family decides to visit a mall\u2019s on-site garden or take their kids to story time or crafts programming, and then rounds out the day at an outdoor movie screening. Ideally, you could sink a whole day into these sprawling communities\u2014and give new life to the term \u201cmall walkers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s2\">Some malls, like Toronto\u2019s Yorkdale Shopping Centre, are in the early stages of exploring redevelopment via densified residential towers. What\u2019s nice is that the plans do away with the usual above-ground parking to create a pedestrian-friendly centre, with outdoor plazas and lots of green space. I\u2019m encouraged, but a major caveat for me is that our retail trajectory needs to be toward inclusive, master-planned neighbourhoods\u2014not malls surrounded by condos. We\u2019ve got a unique chance to tear down the silos of commercial and community and build spaces that help local residents thrive, in all senses. And, yes, we could even throw in a food court, if they wished.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">I don\u2019t even want to call these buildings \u201cshopping centres\u201d anymore. The name should reflect the mall\u2019s new breadth of experiences. What about a \u201ccity centre\u201d or a \u201ccommunity hub,\u201d with the name of the city at the front? Malls will continue to live on. All I\u2019m saying is: let\u2019s make the experience a little bit richer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>This article <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ears in print in the July 2022 issue of<\/em>\u00a0Maclean\u2019s\u00a0<em>magazine. 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Sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>, commentary and analysis.<\/p>\n<p>                <iframe style=\"display:none;width:0px;height:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/society\/how-to-make-malls-matter-again\/about:blank\" name=\"gform_ajax_frame_26\" id=\"gform_ajax_frame_26\" title=\"This iframe contains the logic required to handle Ajax powered Gravity Forms.\"><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/society\/how-to-make-malls-matter-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How to make malls matter again&#8221; For starters, they could house much-needed community services Andrew Gallici is a Toronto-based retail design director at Gensler, an integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm. Gallici believes there will always be a need for malls\u2014but he\u2019s also embraced online shopping. I have a very long history with malls&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":467213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Maclains_Mall_Final3-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[130647,27172,87228,130648],"class_list":["post-467212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-community-centres","tag-malls","tag-shopping-malls","tag-the-big-idea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}