I have been bombarded with news stories speculating on the mall’s new proposition, and I suddenly had a 25-year-old flashback. The aha moment reminded me just how long these so-called new propositions have been gestating.

Mall Fall

Deep in my aging memory banks, I recalled a pivotal piece of journalism published in Metropolis Magazine eons ago. With Google’s assistance, the May 1999 article resurfaced with its focus on reuse and was entitled “Call the Mall Doctor.”

Journalist Ellen Barry summarized: “Existing buildings, whether the Pantheon or your local mall, are repositories of materials, human labor, and embodied energy that must not be wasted…thus, the focus of architectural practice must move from new construction to responsible reuse.” A reread reminded me about the length and trajectory of mall fall, as well as just how predictable it was 25 years ago.

The persistent subject of overstoring had retail prognosticators at the time predicting that between 2000 and 2010, 8,600 malls and shopping centers would go bankrupt and be adapted for other uses.

Going back even further to 1992 (that’s two years before Amazon’s launch), Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) predicted that 15 to 20 percent of the existing malls would go dark by 2000. Remember, that preceded the early 2000s economic downturn and dot.com meltdown, and the 2008 great recession.

Hindsight is 20/20

In 1999, Metropolis reached out to me as an industry consultant on the subject of “the next mall chapter.” At the time, I was midway through a 35-year run as founder of SteinDesign, a boutique retail design firm based in Minneapolis. I was both shocked and delighted.

I postulated all those years ago that the malls might evolve to become “living-working-selling environments,” implying a mixed-use model. At the other end of the retail design practice spectrum, renowned architect Jon Jerde (1940-2015) said he dreamed of transforming dead malls into urban villages: “I think these are giant placeholders waiting for their real life.” In retrospect, neither of us was a genius prophet, just objective industry observers. But you have to wonder why we’re still talking about the same thing 25 years later.

Built For the Moment

The late 20th century shop ‘til you drop frenzy contributed to mall sprawl fed by multiple factors. Investors and developers were motivated by accelerated depreciation. Build it, write it down, and sell it a few years later for a profit. The funds were as easy to come by as finding the specialty retailers to fill the mall space after those sweet deals were cut with department store anchors.

While retailers of the day all had remodeling clauses in their leases, the malls had no such requirements. By the 90s, many of these 20-year-old megamalls were getting very tired looking. Also, demographics were changing with the movement from suburbs to cities. Developers were in online e-commerce denial (yes, even in 1999 that was a thing), and many of them were baby boomers building for the moment and not for the future. All things considered, the mall meltdown seemed inevitable.

As a social institution, the mall became tightly woven into popular culture, from Mallrats to mall walkers and on TV (Shop ‘Til You Drop) and in music (the Valley Girl soundtrack).

Mall Burnout

The fever pitch accelerated in 1990 with 19 new mall openings but dropped off precipitously thereafter. Nothing about these monoliths was very monolithic. Their locations, ownership and management, anchors, and co-tenancies varied greatly. These were the dynamic variables that influenced their long-term value and viability.

According to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), it reached a peak of 1,500 enclosed centers in 2005. The last new enclosed mall was built in 2006, and between 2007 and 2009, 400 of the largest U.S. malls closed.

The Numbers Game

Green Street Advisors rates malls using a 10-point rating system with A++ at the top and C- at the bottom. Generally, an A++ mall average can produce as high as $1,100-per-square- foot, a B mall about $425 p/s/ft, and a C mall around $250 p/s/ft.

As of 2021, approximately 1,000 enclosed malls remained in the U.S. This included about 200 Category A malls and approximately 300 B+ malls, according to Green Street. These top-tier players represent the likely field of survivors but with many caveats. They have become the subject of the popular mall reimagination discussion. Not surprisingly, these top-tier malls are owned and managed by some of the deepest pockets in the industry, including Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties, and SITE Centers Corp, previously known as DDR Corp.

Transactional to Experiential

The retail survival playbook has become all too familiar. It is predicated on turning single-use, transactional retail real estate into multiuse, experiential retail, service, entertainment, hospitality, recreational and living environments. Think: From storing to exploring. Ironically, this theme closely emulates what Austrian Architect Victor Gruen had in mind when he initially conceived the first major indoor mall back in 1956, Southdale Shopping Center in Edina, Minnesota.

Sadly, Gruen’s vision to remake “downtown in the suburbs” included surrounding the center with housing, apartment buildings, schools, medical facilities, and natural amenities such as a lake and parks was highjacked by Gruen’s patrons and 500-acre site owners Dayton Development Company (tied to Dayton’s Department stores and founders of Target).

From Triage to Transformation

Many of the A and B+ class property owners and developers have been in continuous triage mode, undergoing tenant remixing and redevelopment. Meanwhile, a visionary group of owners and developers who understand the vast implications of demographic changes, unified commerce, and new retail are rewriting the mall playbook. The new formulas include multifamily housing, open-air retail, a wide range of food and entertainment, co-working spaces, healthcare, wellness, fitness facilities, recommerce, and even farmers’ markets. They are designed to appeal to work-at-home millennials as well as empty nesters – and to entice and engage local residents.

One such project is the Dallas-based Centennial Real Estate’s redevelopment of Hawthorn Mall in the Chicago suburb of Vernon Hills. With the new emphasis on walkability and dwell time, developers understand the benefits of lush green spaces and outdoor activity centers to evoke an emotional sense of place. Initially built in 1973, Hawthorn Mall’s 2019 redevelopment included new retail and dining options, luxury multifamily housing and indoor/outdoor gathering spaces. A second phase will include a three-acre outdoor park and plaza, 162 units of seniors housing and 109,000 square feet of open-air retail.

In Montreal, Quebec Royalmount, a $7 billion mixed-use development, is expected to open in 2024. It will feature retail, restaurants, entertainment, and housing, all surrounding a central park, and will eventually house 60 restaurants and 170 stores in an 824,000-square-foot, two-level retail and lifestyle complex. According to Andrew Lutfy, CEO of developer Carbonleo, he expects Royalmount to become the number one destination in eastern Canada for retail, dining, and entertainment.

It Takes a Village

The Chicago and Montreal projects both represent massive, clean-slate redevelopments. However, many more of the healthier A, A-, and B+ malls are undergoing more strategic but no less significant reimagination makeovers.

Right in my own backyard, the Brookfield Properties-owned Ridgedale Center in Minnetonka, Minnesota is undergoing a transformation that emphasizes a new relationship with place and connection to the local community. What makes this transformation particularly interesting is the degree to which the City of Minnetonka has influenced and participated in the process, dating back over a decade.

In 2012, the city commissioned the Ridgedale Village Center Study to develop a vision for the future of Ridgedale Center. Guidelines for the enhancement included transforming the retail center into a mixed-use community and improving pedestrian access, connectivity, and walkability for the surrounding community.

In 2018, an early study recommended the transformation of a five-acre parcel on the southwest corner of the Ridgedale Center parking lot which served as overflow parking for JCPenney. The schematic design plan was anchored by a new six-story, 168-unit, 55 years and older luxury apartment building, fronted by a new park. Developer Trammel Crow and High Street Residential planned to donate a two-acre portion of the site to the City of Minnetonka for the park’s development. The design project was awarded to the nationally recognized, local Damon Farber Landscape Architects.

The city’s wish list suggested, “the park have an open lawn, a plaza with a stage, a fountain, play area and an area for public art, as well as a shelter.” In May of this year, Ridgedale Commons was officially unveiled, with a grand ribbon cutting along with the expected fanfare. Most impressed were the young “water babies” trying to anticipate where the next 20-foot waterspout would emerge from the massive interactive fountain. A few days later the Commons hosted a farmers’ market, and the experience was fulfilled: a parking lot no more.

The park is just one component of a massive $4.4 million investment the city committed to. It included new parkways, walkways, major re-landscaping, and site amenities. It resulted in community place-making with improved pedestrian access and connectivity that the traditional auto-oriented mall lacked.

Retailers Thinking Outside the Box, Literally

This project suggests that successful long-term mall viability and reinvention will become a public and private sector shared effort. However, it must also involve the retailers themselves. Replacing vanishing anchor tenants has been a major challenge (a case in point is Ridgedale’s long-vacant Sears). In June 2022, after a massive reconstruction of the nation’s third Dick’s House of Sport, along with Planet Fitness, filled the retail bill. Dick’s new 125,000-square-foot sports emporiums not only promote “immersive product engagement,” but the prototype design turns itself inside out to attract the community. They feature an outdoor, Olympic-grade running track, a soccer field, and a hockey rink. Their ability to act as real-time testing grounds is only part of the picture. Dick’s is making a major investment in community sports by engaging local hockey teams through ice-time rental and family open skating on their stadium-lit, outdoor ice rink. Summer camp and soccer sports programs are also planned.

Winning Formula

These examples of the mall’s new proposition reflect their roles as community magnets. They celebrate an immersive engagement, learning, socialization, and commerce. Ridgedale’s efforts in conjunction with the city of Minnetonka, along with that of Trammel Crow and High Street Residential partnership, were the necessary collaborations to begin to recast the old mold. Major tenants like Dick’s House of Sport also contribute to the evolutionary reimagination of malls.

As for the rest of the 400-600 probable long-term mall survivors (and I’m being optimistic), it will take authentic cooperative planning and deep pockets to regain and maintain their long-term relevance and viability through the next quarter century… and beyond.

The modern airport has become a version of cold war Berlin — a city divided.  In the biz it’s called landside and airside, separated by the wall of security and our version of Check-Point Charlie.  The Stasi-like TSA guards bark about laptops and shoes; the security checks are perfunctory and arbitrary, and the waits are interminable.  The entire entry to a flight at an airport could not be more miserable.

By Design

The starting point for airport design is the aircraft the facility expects to service.  It is more engineering than design. Knowledge and experience in runway lengths, the thickness of the tarmac, and the building configurations needed to accommodate specific airplanes models are paramount in the choice of the firm retained to design and build an airport.  Retail, not to mention some empathy with the needs of travelers, are way down on the priority list.

For those of us traveling in North America the experience varies widely — according to the age of the airport. To my road warrior eye, the ancient JFK and O’Hare represent the lowest end of the spectrum (because expectations are so high). Denver, Pittsburgh and the Detroit airports are newer and better. The new LaGuardia is an improvement  … but still.  No American airport comes close to Dubai and Singapore, yet those facilities still have serious flaws.  Everyone who travels anywhere in the world has horror stories.

Taking Ownership

The management of many major airports like Heathrow and Gatwick has been privatized.  In North America, many airports are controlled by autonomous agencies (like the Port Authority which operates the New York Metro airports) whose answerability to the traveling public is tenuous. Retail for them is a way to either recoup costs and/or make a contribution to operating margins.

Given that airports are public facilities and feed off a strictly captive market, the balance between public service and private enterprise needs attention.  The big issues are who is willing to pay the rent and who should be there in the first place. Duty-free and luxury brands are on one side of the equation and food service and other non-luxury retail on the other.

On the Radar

Years ago, we took a detailed look at two transportation hubs: Dublin Airport in Ireland and Euston Station in London.  We tracked travelers from the moment they stepped off the curb from whatever transportation brought them to the airport or station to the moment they climbed onto the airplane or train. It required a 30-person research crew, and it was the most complex research job we had ever run. To most of us who travel extensively, it wasn’t just a job, it was also personal.  We wanted to make a difference.  And we’re still at it. Airport and duty-free work has continued from Charlotte, Boston and Tel Aviv, to Seoul, New Delhi and Sao Paulo.

Tracking Devices

Much of it was just stopwatch work.  While in a post-Covid world, the numbers have gotten worse, the basic ratios remain the same: In the total travel experience, on average, one-third of everyone’s time it is spent landside (before the gate area), roughly thirty-plus minutes.  That includes checking in and getting through security.  On the airside (the gate area) we average more than an hour, and 69 percent of travelers shop, 65 percent purchase food and beverage items, and 43 forty percent use a restroom.

What surprised us is that we knew more about how travelers spend their time (and money) than airport operators. Whether at the Tax-Free World Conference or in meetings with airport planning and management agencies across the world, it was clear how little airport owners actually knew about the traveling experience.  While many facilities and airlines run customer satisfaction surveys, they had little idea of who went where, for how long, and why.

Keeping Track of Time

One curious finding was the shared anxiety travelers have over time.  Despite watches and phones, the worry about departure times and distance to the gate were paramount.  Better electronic signage systems in-store and food service locations are one simple solution as well as including the required time to reach the gate.  At the new Istanbul airport,  it was a 1.5-mile walk from the international arrival gate to the domestic gate for my next flight.  I needed to know that to plan for the trek.

Way Stations

With so many airlines cutting back on in-flight services the explosion of eating and drinking business at airports are completely understandable.  The restrooms are understandable necessities as well. The toilets in the economy section of a full airplane are the filthiest places you can find in the public domain.

So, upgrading and improving airport restrooms is even more of a priority. Airport women’s restrooms need to be twice the size of the mens room.  Women need more space because they carry more things. (By the way, we recommend the same change in theaters, malls, and any other public facilities.) One idea we had was to offer bathroom sponsorships. Imagine if Estee and P&G armed attendants with samples of moisturizers, cleansers and fragrance. A stressed-out female traveler woman is grateful for anything that makes the experience less painful.

Sightlines

One simple observation: Airport retail design does not recognize that thanks to rolling suitcases, the aisle configurations need to be planned as if everyone were pulling rather than pushing a baby stroller. In other words, wider aisles. And also recognize that many travelers have only one hand free, the other is carrying or pulling luggage so that navigation can be dicey.

Retail Windows of Opportunity

We endure the stress of the rush not to miss the flight, but also the stress of delays.  So, retailers, leverage the delays in your favor. Make travelers feel better with instant gratification rewards. Chanel lipstick and fragrance are no-brainers.

Most travelers’ suitcases are stuffed. In that spirit, airport retailers can showcase products where fulfillment is online, delivered to your home or office.  The only way you fall in love with that massage chair is to try it.  Or home décor from the Museum Store. Or those boots you’ve been longing for that definitely won’t fit in your carry-on bag.

Duty-free is an interesting challenge. There are the travelers with the sophistication to know the differences among single malt scotches … but there are those who do not.  The inclusion of educational signage is an easy way to start a conversation and get customers to trade up.

Cross-merchandising the store needs to reflect travelers’ states of mind.  We liked the idea of a comfort section, where pillows, light blankets, and sleep masks were merchandised together.

Jewelry and handbags are about good mirrors and lighting … and subject for another article.

Bonus Card

At a recent conference on Placemaking, I heard a funny talk on how an ice cream cart can transform a public place.  In the same spirit, we need to move past fixed seating and give people moveable chairs and desk space. In the airport in Qatar, you can rent a covered single bed to take a nap and have a wake-up service.

It’s time for us to get past the traditional Hudson News model. Airports represent a real opportunity.  The global traveler deserves better. So does the domestic passenger.

So far, malls have not had an easy year – but some shopping centers have managed to thrive despite the category’s wider challenges. We looked at retail foot traffic data from five high-performing malls throughout the country to understand what drives these outliers’ success.

State of Indoor Malls in 2022

In the second half of 2021, mall foot traffic was making a comeback. According to the Placer.ai Mall Index (that tracks anonymized visitation data for 100 top-tier indoor malls throughout the country), visits to indoor malls in July and October 2021 were higher than they had been in the same months in 2019. And December 2021 foot traffic was only 3.5 percent lower than it had been in December two years prior, which meant that despite the rise in ecommerce and the budding Omicron wave, the holiday shopping season was bringing almost as many consumers to malls as in pre-Covid times.

With the rise of ecommerce, consumers no longer need malls to shop efficiently. But just because consumers don’t need malls doesn’t mean that they don’t want them. And the best malls are successfully attracting visitors by creating an exciting and stimulating place for people to meet friends, be entertained, eat, and of course, shop and discover new products.

This year, however, has been off to a rocky start. Once Omicron picked up in earnest, January 2022 visits plummeted. And following a brief respite in February 2022, when visit numbers almost reached pre-pandemic levels, March 2022 foot traffic fell once more as inflation and high gas prices strained consumers’ shopping budgets. Today, although it is increasingly clear that the pandemic didn’t end mall-based retail, shopping centers of all types are still struggling with persistent year-over-three-year (Yo3Y) visit gaps.

But despite the challenges facing the wider category, several shopping centers stand out as beacons of success. Since the beginning of the year, Westfield Valley Fair in CA, Oakbrook Center in IL, Scottsdale Fashion Square in AZ, Natick Mall in MA, and Southgate Mall in MT have all significantly outperformed the Placer.ai Mall Index average. Over the past couple of months, all five malls have also exceeded their own 2019 monthly visitation levels. What is driving these outliers’ success?

Foot Traffic Metrics, Pre- & Post-Pandemic 

Analyzing the recent foot traffic metrics for these five high-performing malls provides some interesting clues. The chart below shows the trade area (the area from which at least 70 percent of each mall’s visitors travel to reach the property) from January to June 2019 and 2022 and the median household income (HHI) within the trade area, as well as the share of visitors who visited each mall at least twice.

The five malls analyzed display a wide range of median HHI, which indicates that there is no “one size fits all” formula that can be used to define the ideal consumer demographic that will drive mall success. Malls can do well by catering to low, middle, or high-income consumers –  the key is to offer a mix of stores, experiences, and dining options that can appeal to the specific community within each mall’s reach.

Perhaps more surprising, the HHI for the trade area of all five malls dropped between 2019 and 2022 – which means that the Yo3Y rise in visits isn’t stemming from an increase in those with greater purchasing power.

So, what are these malls doing to attract shoppers? Focusing on the trade area size and share of returning visitors may reveal some insights.

Focus on Experiences 

Since 2019, all five malls have seen an increase in their trade area size coupled with a decrease in the share of returning visitors. This means that the Yo3Y increase in monthly visits isn’t driven by loyal shoppers who are visiting the mall more frequently than they were in 2019. Instead, the growth seems driven by an increase in unique visitors who are traveling to the mall from farther away. How have these malls increased their reach?

One answer could be that all five malls invest in experiences. Last year, the Natick Mall opened Level99, an immersive gaming center. Oakbrook has been experimenting with art exhibits and has recently launched a Stranger Things pop-up store. The Scottsdale Fashion Square houses Wonderspaces, an interactive, immersive art installation space, as well as Selfie WRLD, which is described by its website as “the #1 trending selfie museum in the world.” Westfield Valley Fair held several weekend events with live performances, a bounce house, and retailer pop-ups to celebrate its post-Covid reopening. And the Southgate Mall in Missoula, MT has recently added interactive art venue Giggle Box to its tenant mix.

Malls Need to Give Customers a Reason to Visit 

With the rise of ecommerce, consumers no longer need malls to shop efficiently. But just because consumers don’t need malls doesn’t mean that they don’t want them. And the best malls are successfully attracting visitors by creating an exciting and stimulating place for people to meet friends, be entertained, eat, and of course, shop and discover new products.

In the long term, the pandemic may have a positive impact on shopping centers. Widespread store closures have left open spaces and forced many mall operators to move beyond their comfort zone to bring in art, pop-up shops, and other attractions that connect shoppers with the experiences that they are increasingly expecting. Top-performing malls are working hard to stay relevant by taking risks and getting creative to provide their customers with unexpected experiences that keep people coming back.

Malls will likely continue to play a key role in American retail going forward. But those that fail to innovate may be left behind.

America’s mid-20^th Century suburban sprawl drove the first big wave of shopping center growth. With that, locally based single-store merchants who thrived in bustling downtowns saw huge opportunities to follow their customers to the “burbs” to cash in on the post-World War II baby boom.

The explosion of national specialty retail chains that followed between the late 1960s and mid- 1990s helped to feed the next iteration of the new department store-anchored, regional super-malls, along with the enclosed “malling” of previously open-air centers. Unfortunately, for many of the small locally based merchants, the market strength and sophistication of the specialty retailers priced the locals out of choice mall locations.

Despite all the many ebbs and flows of retailing over the past three decades, MOA has managed to distinguish itself as far more than just an excessively big mall. It has been a phenomenon that both cultivates retailers and captivates audiences.

The Pendulum Thing

Three decades later, call it a karmic comeuppance or a pendulum swing, the pandemic hastened the shakeout of the now bloated and ubiquitous specialty retailers who focused on scale as a strategy rather than a tactic for long-term success. Enter the flood of empty storefronts in 2022.

Most of today’s best-performing (A, A-, or B+ class) malls are once again in search of fresh concepts and retail upstarts to occupy their empty storefronts. These include digital native, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, as well as local entrepreneurs whose unique styles and street cred lend authenticity to traditional malls. More importantly they become Gens Y, Z and Alpha magnets.

The Mega-Malls Mojo

Ironically, one of the leaders in “rebalancing” nationals and locals is none other than the Twin Cities’ nearly five million square-foot Mall of America. This is nothing new for them. In August 1992 when MOA opened their doors, there were a host of fresh players in addition to the expected national chains. Some of the newbies were literally “being hatched” through a retail incubator program developed by the mall’s innovative leasing group, led at the time by Melvin Simon and Associates, the predecessor of Simon Property Group.

These entrepreneurial startups received short-term leases in nominal footprints, called bump-backs, a term coined to describe these trial tenancies that occupied the front real estate positions representing 15 percent to 20 percent of a not-yet-leased tenant space. Despite the impermanence of these players, the mall owners insisted that the store designs and fit-outs be first-rate, as they often bookended tenants that were paying the full freight. These tests proved to be prudent investments for the mall, as many of the retail entrepreneurs ultimately became full-fledged inline tenants. I am proud to say that my own retail design firm was actively involved in the program, three decades ago. Today, these tactics of offering short-term leases to test the viability of a retailer or a concept are becoming commonplace among the leading mall owners.

Entrepreneurship Is in MOA’s DNA

Mall of America has always been an anomaly among retail properties. Beyond being one of the biggest malls in North America, it has always had its own playbook. As an international destination, its 40 million annual visitors travel greater distances than for any other shopping center. Besides being the host of over 500 stores and its signature Nickelodeon Universe indoor theme park, it has benefitted from a unique mix of retail, entertainment, live events and activities, and a broad range of great eateries.

Yet, thinking small as well as big is hardly foreign to MOA. In November 2018, MOA launched “Fourpost,” a Retail-as-a-Service (RaaS) concept. This unique collective of kiosk-like product presentations operated by the mall, became a launch pad for startups and digitally native brands. It offered offline exposure to the mega-malls’ throngs without painstaking processes and major development costs for the retail concepts. The mini marketplace featured a flexible product display system and offered short-term leases of three and six months, with no initial cash outlay.

Doing Right When It Really Matters

While MOA has always benefited from international tourism, it has never lost sight of being a good community steward in the Twin Cities. Mall of America generates about 10 percent of the City of Bloomington Minnesota’s tax base and has an outsized impact on the entire state economy. Think: Disney.

Two years ago, following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, many of the South Minneapolis businesses were destroyed during the unrest that followed. With input and guidance of community leaders, Mall of America opened its Community Commons in October –a rent-free 5,000 square-foot collective for 16 displaced urban merchants and a new breed of entrepreneurial retailers.

The Commons just celebrated its “fourth rotational installation” of new retailers 18 months after its opening. I had the opportunity to chat with Jill Renslow, Mall of America’s Executive Vice President of Business Development & Marketing about the program’s evolution. Jill tends Community Commons like a passionate gardener.

Keeping It Real

Jill talked with enthusiasm about the experience of finding and helping develop the talents of locally based merchants who bring a sense of dynamism and authenticity to MOA. She also nurtures the handful of retailers, now about a half dozen, who have “graduated” from the Community Commons program to become full-fledged inline tenants.

One of Jill’s favorite success stories is Urban29, operated by Joyce Sanders. Joyce had been a successful South Minneapolis seller of urban streetwear since opening her store in 2019. That was before the twin slam of Covid-19 and the unrest and arson that followed the murder of George Floyd. It reduced Urban29’s inventory to ashes.

In May 2021, Sanders opened a permanent storefront on MOA’s second floor and continues to build her unique premium, luxury streetwear brand that caters to 18–35-year-old customers. Another Community Commons fashion superstar is designer Andre Sackman with his brand “Love Disorder,” who received an invitation to show his line on the runway at New York’s Fashion Week, in February 2022.

Building the Commons Brand

I asked Jill how the program has evolved since its inception. She said the biggest change has been reducing the number of retailers by about half. “This has given all of the retailers about twice the amount of space and has also allowed our staff to have more impact in fostering the success of the merchants.” The most recent group of “inductees” include six new retailers added to two holdovers from the last group.

Her team leverages the relationships it has built throughout the community to identify unique retail talents with fresh concepts that can benefit from the exposure MOA can provide them. They have developed an in-depth review process to qualify potential merchants and the selected merchants begin rent-free for three months. At the end of that period, they receive the opportunity to continue operating, based on paying a percentage of their revenue rather than a fixed lease rate.

Playbook for Success

The Commons entrepreneurs are mentored by the MOA team with staffing models and other operational assists. The Twin-Cities based creative agency, KNOCK, inc. which has a longstanding consulting relationship with Mall of America, also provides the Community Commons merchants with a wide range of pro bono services that helps position them for success.

According to Reginaldo Reyes, KNOCK’s VP Brand Experience and Environmental Design, paying a percent helps vet the Community Commons retailers and supports them with branding, identity design, social media, marketing, visual merchandising and store design. KNOCK also drew upon the talents of Juxtaposition Arts, a non-profit youth art and design education center, who collaborated in the design of the Commons space, introducing a bold, street-art inspired visual branding which became the perfect billboard for “the goods.”

JXTA, as they are known in the community, also offers JXTALABS, a workforce development program, that offers young adults ages 14-21 year-round apprenticeships in art and design. Apprentices are trained and mentored by adult practicing artists, designers, and architects in revenue-earning production studios.

Celebrations and Collaborations

Jill Renslow noted that MOA has offered the Commons retailers opportunities to collaborate around special calendar events. That currently includes Mall of America’s 30^th anniversary, which will officially take place on August 11, 2022. The celebration has prompted several of the retailers to develop signature “merch” to commemorate the event.

Beyond the Community Commons program, Jill reaffirmed the fact that MOA has always been on the prowl for the hottest retail upstarts, nationally and internationally. They have developed an effective lead strategy, paired with flexible programs that include short-term tenancies as well as longer-term deals. These opportunities include seasonal and event pop-ups that last from days to temporary tenancies of six weeks to three months.

Despite all the many ebbs and flows of retailing over the past three decades, MOA has managed to distinguish itself as far more than just an excessively big mall. It has been a phenomenon that both cultivates retailers and captivates audiences.