Because it was cheaper to build on empty land than tear down existing buildings, these new developments were nearly always "outside" the established shopping districts. This was seen in our own shopping center, Stonewood Mall, and certainly in the Lakewood Shopping Center, one of the very first malls in America. Developers came from all over the country to Lakewood to see how to do it. And then they did it with almost unfailing success.
Malls are friendly to the automobile, mainly because of the vast parking available. After WW II the nation was hungry for cars and the freedom to travel. Driving a couple extra miles for a little recreational shopping was fun.
What followed was an evolution in mall design and most of the original ones have had to be updated in various ways-enclosing them, air conditioning, more color, a more avant garde look. Then, however, the malls were blind-sided-not of their own doing. The petroleum crisis of the 1970s and '80s made people more aware of how far they were driving and what might be termed non-essential trips.
The "gas" shortage had another unexpected side effect. Since most of our electricity is generated with oil, when the price of oil went from $5 a barrel to $20 a barrel, the resultant price increase was devastating to air conditioning costs for these huge enclosed malls. Rents had to go up accordingly. Profits got squeezed and some stores failed.
The registry of the grande dames of department stores is a graveyard of the rich and famous-Bullocks, Buffum's and Broadway to name a few. The demise of the old guard of retail was also helped along by discount merchandising. With stores so big and profit margins so thin, the frills went away. The carpeting was replaced by linoleum at best and possibly even bare concrete, "swampers" replaced air conditioning, many had to totally restructure to survive. A whole new lineup of "category killers" started from scratch. PETsMART, Home Depot, Party City, Old Navy, Staples and Crown Books even had a meteoric existence.
This change in stores has had an impact on shopping centers as well. The latest victim is Sherman Oaks Galleria-the place that produced the Valley Girl culture. But the Valley is overmalled and there is not enough consumer spending to make them all work. Cruising teenagers do not spend enough to pay the rent. Long Beach's downtown mall is dead in the water, Hawthorne is obsolete and empty, Pasadena's is empty in favor of their Old Town revitalization. Seemingly, major geographic areas can handle one really big old-fashioned enclosed mall; South Coast Plaza, for example. But experience shows there will be a further shakeout.
The new "off-price centers" are coming on-stream. Scottsdale Pavillion started on an Indian reservation outside of Phoenix. The next one, Anaheim Plaza, was in Orange County and now we have Long Beach Town Centre at Carson Street and the 605 Freeway. They will set the standard for the next generation of malls. Open space between individual store buildings (you need a car to get around there), futuristic architecture, many different colors, lots of neon, eye-catching signs. It has success written all over it.
It also says some of the older non-performing centers will be rebuilt to office and business parks. At least they will have enough parking.