John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com.
The window on the mountain is absolutely closed today as more seasonal winter temperatures spread across the Blue Ridge after a pleasantly mild Christmas. I hope you and yours had a good holiday.
The other day, I came across a YouTube video documenting a local shopping center’s shocking decline. Signal Hill Mall is located in Statesville, where I spent nearly 10 years as an economic developer between 2007 and 2016. When I started my job there, Signal Hill had seen better days. However, it was still a reasonably vibrant retail center with a Belk, a Sears, a JCPenney, a Radio Shack and a bookstore, along with the tchotchke shops typical to malls of the era. There were vacant spaces, to be sure, and the place harbored a general datedness, but I would frequently go there for a pleasant lunch hour, get a hotdog or hamburger from the sandwich shop, make a run through the men’s department of JCPenney and browse the bookstore. Then, one by one, the lights started to blink out.
Sears was the first to close, a victim of the 2008 recession, followed a couple of years later by JCPenney and several smaller shops. As an economic developer, I felt each one of these closings deeply, but let me tell you, there is nothing – NOTHING – an economic developer, a mayor, a town council or a group of “concerned citizens” can do to prevent them. It isn’t about “making them a better offer” or “cutting them a tax break.” Sears and JCPenney were in the throes of their own death spirals, closing hundreds of stores across the country each year, and the concept of the enclosed retail mall, especially the smaller, community-scale ones, had run its course. The writing was on the wall for Signal Hill and hundreds of other spaces like it.
The video begins with the creator walking through an empty parking lot toward the main entrance to the mall. Once inside the front doors, they film the closed IHOP and deli across the aisle, both of which have debris littered inside closed metal gates. The Muzak is still working and unironically playing Billy Joel’s “Moving Out” as they walk down the main aisle toward a surprisingly still-functioning central fountain. They pan up to show sagging, moldy ceiling tiles and down to show buckets of all shapes and sizes, even a kiddie pool placed to catch the water leaking from the ceiling.
On the other side of the fountain is perhaps the most shocking sight of all: Wooten Jewelers, closed and locked tight for the day but still clearly operating in some capacity out of that space. It is unclear why a business would remain open in such a blighted place; it could be due to some contractual issue, I suppose, or maybe just stubbornness. Whatever the reason, the jewelers do neither their customers nor the mall ownership any favors by remaining in that store.
The videographer continues down the central aisle, showing more vacant retail space, areas cordoned off by yellow and black “crime scene” tape, more mold and more sagging ceiling tiles. It’s a sobering sight.
My time in Iredell County ended on a rather sour note, and it would be easy for me to cite this video maliciously, but the honest truth is that Signal Hill Mall is no different than hundreds of other malls of a similar size and vintage across the country. The last time I visited Woodland Mall in Bowling Green, Ohio, a prosperous college town where I lived for two years as a student and several years after as an alumnus, it was perhaps a half-step up from the Signal Hill shown in the video, and that was four years ago, so who knows how it stands now. Even the larger, more regional Sandusky Mall, where I worked my “Mall Rat Summer” as an intern for JCPenney in the ’80s, was hovering around 50 percent occupancy the last time I visited.
In today’s retail landscape, shopping malls find themselves grappling with a myriad of challenges that threaten their viability. The rise of e-commerce giants and shifting consumer preferences toward online shopping have significantly impacted foot traffic, leaving these malls struggling to attract and retain tenants. The escalating costs of maintenance, security and marketing exacerbate the financial strain, especially on smaller establishments. Additionally, larger, more modern regional shopping centers with a diverse range of amenities often overshadow their smaller counterparts, drawing in consumers with a one-stop shopping experience. The COVID-19 pandemic has further intensified these issues, as lockdowns and safety concerns have led to reduced in-person shopping. As a result, smaller shopping malls face an uphill battle to reinvent themselves, exploring innovative strategies and partnerships to stay relevant in an ever-evolving retail landscape.
Communities have undertaken creative initiatives to repurpose and breathe new life into aging shopping malls, recognizing the potential for these spaces to serve alternative functions beyond traditional retail. Some have transformed abandoned mall areas into vibrant community hubs by repurposing storefronts into affordable co-working spaces, incubators for local entrepreneurs or pop-up marketplaces for local artisans. Others have focused on fostering a sense of community by converting central atriums into recreational spaces, hosting events like farmers’ markets, fitness classes or cultural performances.
Adaptive reuse projects have seen the conversion of vacant retail spaces into housing units, creating mixed-use developments that integrate residential living with commercial activities. In several instances, older malls have been repurposed into educational facilities, housing schools, community colleges or vocational training centers. A shopping center was turned into office space for various county agencies in nearby Albemarle. These community-driven efforts not only salvage neglected spaces but also contribute to the revitalization of neighborhoods, promoting sustainability and fostering a sense of shared identity among residents.
While the future of Signal Hill Mall and similar establishments remains uncertain in the face of evolving retail dynamics, the innovative approaches adopted by various communities offer a glimmer of hope for these aging structures. Through adaptive reuse, collaborative efforts and creative reimagination, there lies the potential for these spaces to undergo a transformative resurgence, becoming vibrant hubs that meet the diverse needs of their communities in ways beyond traditional retail.