Are malls a dying breed?

Link to February 22 Pittsburgh Post Gazette article.

Excerpt:
From shuttered storefronts to near-empty corridors, hard times have hit some of the region's largest shopping malls.

Once the pillars of local consumerism, malls from Frazer to Monroeville to West Mifflin are struggling with vacancies as the nation's deepening recession takes its toll on retailers and shopper confidence.

At Century III Mall, one wing of the sprawling West Mifflin complex is nearly empty because of an exodus of stores. By a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette count, more than 30 storefronts are empty.
In Frazer, the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills is coping with some 37 vacancies, as the huge ranch-style mall continues to struggle to find a niche since its opening in 2005.

And in the east suburbs, Monroeville Mall, where the 1978 cult classic "Dawn of the Dead" was filmed, finds itself amidst a real-life retail horror story, with roughly 20 empty storefronts by the newspaper's count.

Machesney mall rehab taking small steps until more retailers sign on

Link to September 7 Rockford Register-Star article.

Excerpt:
Some interior demolition work has begun at the Machesney Park Mall, but the planned full-scale revamp of the underused shopping center won’t start until more tenants sign on.

The 8750 N. Second St. shopping center, which is anchored by a JC Penney outlet and Bergner’s but is largely barren otherwise, has long been the target of redevelopment. Rubloff Development Group, working with the village, has plans to turn it into an outdoor shopping center but hasn’t secured enough interested tenants to move forward.

Mall Mulling

Link to July 31 Warren Times Observer article.

Excerpt:
Since the mall opened in 1979, he said, the number of people in the targeted retail trade area has declined from 130,000 to 90,000.

That makes Warren County a "C" market in retailing terms, said Zamias, and also makes it difficult to attract smaller retailers to fill the many vacant spaces at the mall