If malls continue to shut down and decay over the next twenty years, someone should turn them into retirement communities for GenX and Millennials.
Imagine apartments built into what used to be department stores, (Oh, you're JC Penny 203? I'm at Sears 106). Get those old arcades up and running. Set up meal stations at the food court. Once people actually live there, stores will start to move back in.
If I'm unable to finish my life in my own home, that doesn't sound like a terrible option.
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As a GenX, I would prefer seeing them made into some sort of public space? We are losing a lot of that, at least where I live. Indoor space in particular.
Can you provide an example since in not fully understanding what you're after?
A library.
Yeah but one for talking
A talkbrary
Barnes and Noble/Starbucks tried that. It’s pretty cool but didn’t scale
I commented below with a similar idea. Like a public indoor park, for when Outside(TM) is no longer an option for recreation due to climate issues. They are big enough to accommodate large playgrounds, both child and adult style, running tracks, swimming pools, sports fields/courts. Keep the food court, sure, throw in a library, etc.
If we ever get a house and senate progressive enough to shave like 0.000000001% of the military budget we could put one in every abandoned mall and have funds left over.
Yeah that sounds awesome!
I was just trying to say that once you privatize something like a mall to make it housing or whatever it is, you will never get it back. The city or some public trust should hold onto the property. What you actually do with it depends on what would be best for the community I guess?
Being a Canadian, just having some indoor places where you can gather in to get out of the cold in the dead of winter is something I don't think we should give up.
3rd places.