News and Events
Mall Vacancies Lead to Makeovers
RCS Senior Vice President Spence Mehl talks about alternative uses for vacant space with Stacey Vanek-Smith on NPR Marketplace.
Apr 16, 2009 NPR Marketplace
STACEY VANEK-SMITH: The nation's mall-rats have been busy, squirreling their money away. Shoppers are staying home and traditional anchors like Mervyns, Linens N' Things and Circuit City have vanished. Suzanne Mulvee is a real-estate strategist at Property and Portfolio Research. She says to survive, malls are making themselves over.
SUZANNE MULVEE: They're trying to fill dark space, and they're going to look outside of their traditional group of tenants to try to find new users for that space.
Mulvee says malls are courting discounters they used to shun, like T.J. Maxx and 99-cent stores. She says they're also leasing space to universities and government offices. And then there's entertainment.
SPENCE MEHL: Miniature golf, gyms, karate studios, skating rinks.
Spence Mehl is with RCS Real Estate Advisors. He says it's about time the malls changed.
MEHL : People are bored with what's in the malls now. It's all cookie cutter. This is a good shake up to help bring some innovative retailers, innovative entertainment.