Here today, Mall tomorrow

Some would say that indoor shopping malls are obsolete.
Soon to be fazed out in favor of outdoor lifestyle centers
and less frequented because of online malls,
there are theories bouncing around that in the near future,
the indoor mall will cease to exist.

An ever-expanding network of urban explorers and economists
are running websites like Labelscar and Deadmalls.com
to keep a tabs on those behemoth climate-controlled retail centers
that are dwindling in occupancy rates and falling into disrepair
as well as a growing number of centers
that have been abandoned completely.
These are the types of places where I read theories
that malls will go extinct in the next few decades.

For the malls that have been completely abandoned
and now are being leveled so something new can be built,
most of them resided in the rust belt.
States like Indiana, Ohio and Illinois were booming
back in the day of the thriving steel industry.
That part of the economy has folded
as advancing technology has brought change.
Entire cities (like Gary, Indiana and a large part of Detroit) have gone under.
In Louisiana, malls have died from Katrina's flooding.
There have been some others that have died
in California and here in Florida
Because "bigger and better" have replaced them.
One was in my home town of Lakeland.
The one that is now a church.
I know of a mall that has been bulldozed in
Clearwater, Tampa, Hollywood and tiny Titusville.
I know of ailing malls such as
Regency Square in Jacksonville,
University Mall in Tampa,
Orlando Fashion Square,
our own Ponce Mall
and many more.

Still, malls do exist.
In every city I go to,
there is a mall.
Some are large and newly renovated,
some are tiny and in need of updating
but most are very much alive.

Orlando, Florida has one state-of-the-art Mall,
the Mall at Millennia.
It is occupied by high-end designer stores
and markets to the wealthy tourists.
As far as I can tell,
it is healthy.
The more affordable family mall, Florida Mall,
is fully functional.
International Plaza in Tampa is bustling.
Lakeland Square Mall,
which was going downhill since the 2000's,
has received some renovations.
Altamonte Mall is simpler but still very large
and serves a large subdivision of Orlando.
And this is just what I can visit in my Florida
"territory".
These healthy malls exist all over America.
some have a few shuttered stores
or store fronts that once held a brand name
like "Loft" that now hold a family-owned boutique shop,
But I would hardly say they are "dying".

Here is my theory.
Here in North Florida, the Jacksonville Metro area,
we have an "inverted" mall called the
St. Johns Town Center.
It is massive and was only built about a decade ago.
Its stores range from budget bargains like Ross and Old Navy
to middle-range like Nike, JCrew and American Eagle
to high fashion like Coach and Louis Vuitton.
They all face outward to sidewalks in the open air.
Its "anchors", a Dillard's, Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW Shoes,
Target and soon a Nordstom,
are situated in the midst of the layout
but on different ends like a standard indoor mall.
It is refreshing to take a walk through it,
breathing in outdoor air and it feels like exercise...
...as long as it is a nice day.
North Florida is still Florida.
In August, it's in the mid 90's outside.
In the winter, the weather is a little more harsh
than some of Florida's more southern regions.
There are many cold, dreary and rainy days.
There are mornings that are downright frosty.
Long story short,
it isn't always convenient to spend an afternoon
strolling leisurely in an outdoor shopping center
when there's damp cold or extreme heat.

I can see these new lifestyle centers
being most successful in states like CA,
where the weather is fairly stable.
Everywhere else, there's something that
will make them difficult for people.

Where do you go shopping when it's so hot
your skin gets sticky?
What about when there's driving rain?
Snow and sleet?
Thank goodness for these older climate controlled
indoor malls.
If I had shopping to do for an afternoon
or people in town to entertain
and the weather was unforgiving,
I wouldn't care if the mall
looked like it was stuck in the 90's.
I would look up at the rain
through the glass ceilings,
feeling thankful it couldn't get to me,
and then enjoy not shivering because
the indoor temperature was somewhere in the 70's.

Today I visited the Avenues Mall,
which is my nearest large option for indoor retail.
It is Labor Day weekend.
It is hot, humid and people are off of work.
There are sales everywhere.
It took awhile to find a parking spot.
Once I got into the stores,
it took awhile to get through to the front of the lines.
And walking in the main corridor,
through center court,
I felt like I was in a sea of faces.
Faces of all different nationalities,
colorful outfits,
and various languages.
There were sounds of children,
music, the kids train,
and voices on intercoms.
The few fronts that are closed
boast an ad for something new coming soon.
There are old store fronts that belong
to a family owned business now,
including one wine shop that sells alcoholic slushies.
The children's play area is crawling with babies.
The Starbucks kiosk has a line backed up all the way across
center court.

This retail empire is not going anywhere.