Metro Phoenix is in the midst of a mall renaissance.
Shopping malls were once a main venue for entertainment, attracting shoppers into large department stores, catering to a wide variety of people eating in the food court and boasting other offerings, such as skate parks, movie theaters and arcades.
However, as shopping habits changed, many malls fell from their former status as a main gathering place, and many across the Valley faced the wrecking ball to make way for new development.
While many have shuttered, some have stood up to the changing retail environment. Others have even thrived.
“The classic mall, the enclosed, two-level, air-conditioned mall has changed,” said David Uhles, senior vice president of Western Retail Advisors. “Shopping behaviors have changed and the demand for experiences has shifted.”
In most markets, Uhles said, a few high-caliber malls can stand the test of time. Those malls, which often include high-end stores, can generally afford the high operating costs that come with such a large retail footprint.
For other malls, which were anchored by lower-end department stores, shifts to online shopping and other changes proved too much to handle. Mall staples, like Sears or JCPenney, have closed hundreds