Mall Retrofits and the Experiential Economy Harvard Graduate School of Design: Executive Education Program Urban Retail Essentials: Planning, Design and Management Practices GUEST SPEAKER: Bill De St. Aubin CEO, Sizemore Group We ve seen recent announcements nationwide from JC Penney, Sears, Macy's and others regarding store closures. Over one third of shopping malls, 80% of which are owned by publicly-traded mall REITS, are at risk of dying. Simultaneously, the experiential economy is growing in place of traditional retail brick and mortars, with more money being spent at restaurants than in grocery stores in 2016 for the first time in U.S. history. Suburban shopping malls are some of the hardest hit by this phenomenon, along with internet-based conveniences and other changing preferences of the American consumer. Suburbs are urbanizing and mega cities are growing into the suburbs at remarkable rates. In 1960, 34 percent of the world s population lived in cities, today 54 percent live in cities, and by 2030 75 percent of the world s population will live in cities. That growth includes the suburban areas around the world s mega cities. Public and private organizations have begun working together to re-imagine and retrofit malls that are at risk of becoming obsolete, or vacant, to improve the quality of life in the urbanizing suburban areas previously anchored by local and regional malls. Malls: The Evolution How can a traditional mall compete with the kinds of experiences that can be had at 1920s-era warehouses converted into retail districts, river walks brimming with local dining and shopping venues, or revitalized historic downtowns with charming mixed uses? Some have found that they cannot compete on a retail basis alone, and converted shuttered malls into medical office facilities, call centers, or have even orchestrated a sale to a university for conversion into an incubator for young entrepreneurs. Others, like several regional malls around Denver, have doubled down on branding and creative place-making in an effort to create a favorable sense of place in and around existing malls. Early on in Sizemore Group s practice of developing town centers, like Smyrna and Duluth, Georgia, we were approached by several organizations looking for economical space to locate their community non-profit, daycare, senior center or government office on a shoe string budget. In that time we helped convert three vacant strip malls into active community space. In each case, the surrounding suburban area was over retailed and each of our conversions took vacant retail off the market while stimulating the adjoining retail redevelopment. Creating a Connected Experience // Being the Experience Sizemore Group is now combining our expertise in town center planning with suburban mall retrofit expertise to help reshape suburban centers towards the urban experiential economy. We have participated in several mall retrofit projects across the spectrum of possibilities in areas around the Southeastern United States. The experiential preference is impacting not only how and where consumers want to spend, but also how we create favorable places. The process of making places should be an experience in and of itself; as Jane Jacobs once said, Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.
There are a few reasons why we ve found this to be a useful approach for Sizemore Group. The first, rather simple, reason is that this is what the clients expect. The experiential economy has already established itself far beyond simple transactions in food and goods. Professional services such as architectural design and master planning should not be tedious or opaque for clients. All involved are much more satisfied when we creatively engage the client to collaborate and partner with us on a project. More importantly, when we bring clients along for the journey, and our planners are fully immersed in the community, the final product is superior. Depending on the client and the project, we ve done this a number of ways: soliciting interactive input inside the mall itself, organizing a Planners Pub Crawl for stakeholders, setting up a booth at a community festival and more. Through these types of interactive and immersive activities, we bond with our clients, and thus get better, stronger inputs into the design and planning process. This inclusive process also tends to generate a higher level of community buy-in that is necessary for many to see completion. One community member who participated in our experiential planning was an accomplished musician. At the end of our process, he wrote a song and performed it for the community during our final presentation and the City adopted it as the official city song. The Retrofit Process Our retrofit process begins by establishing goals with the client and community through vision sessions with the clients, community workshops and interviews. We then align these goals with reality by evaluating the market demand, physical attributes and funding sources. Once those parameters are established, we begin planning through a master plan session and constant refinement aligned with public and private funding sources with the client. We create an implementation schedule and make a the final presentation. Once approved, we offer town architecture services to implement and manage the project delivery and design over time. Case Studies The following outlines some of Sizemore Group s past projects to illustrate how one might approach a mall retrofit within the experiential economy what has already been successfully implemented and what the future could hold for redevelopment. In all cases, we aim to discover what the community wants, understand the market conditions and understand funding sources available (whether they are public, private or both). We focus where those three elements intersect to create an awesome experience for all involved. Cumberland Before Cumberland Blueprint & Green TOD: Our first engagement with major regional mall retrofits began with the State of Georgia s first and perhaps most successful Community Improvement District, the Cumberland CID. This CID is home to Cumberland Mall, several Fortune 500 companies, and it is where over 5 percent of the entire state s economy and 33 percent of the county s economy is generated. While they ve demonstrated great success in infrastructure and commercial development, the area suffered from lack of housing and regional highcapacity transit. Cumberland After
The Cumberland area was originally planned as a sort of Corbusian dream at the intersection of I-75 and I-285 along the Chattahoochee River with 3 miles of national park space. While interesting to move through, it was not a town nor a place. Its primary elements were office parks, a mall and exhibition center, and a relatively recent additions like a world-class performing arts center. A P 3 Leadership vision: For High Capacity Transit Multi modal hub station, parking & transit green Green TOD walkable mixed use Overlay District, The Vision was set We were commissioned to master plan the entire 3,000-acre area in the early 2000 s to attract transit connectivity and redevelopment of old strip centers into an exciting, mixed-use, urban experience. Our process demonstrated how a transit oriented mixed-use redevelopment would reinvigorate the CID s under-utilized Akers Mill Shopping Center. Unfortunately, the Akers Mill owner later concluded they would not be willing to redevelop or sell. The project stalled, however, the seeds were sewn for well-planned future experiential redevelopment in the Cumberland CID. Within five years, the Atlanta Braves bought a nearby parcel and built a new stadium and town center called the Battery. Smyrna Baseline Connecting Cumberland CID & the Atlanta Braves Battery: In 2016, we were engaged by the adjacent City of Smyrna to retrofit a gateway corridor into the new Battery, with its surrounding mixeduse, experiential retail development. This mixed-use component keeps the area interesting and active all year long, even where there is no baseball game or performance happening. While the Battery itself is compelling, pedestrian and cycle access from Smyrna is negatively impacted by a major 6-8 lane road and highway. To mitigate the negative impact, Cumberland CID has been building trails below the highway and pedestrian bridges above, separated as the Corbusier Vision specified so long ago. To expand on this and further improve connectivity, Sizemore has planned The Baseline. The concept is a one-mile elevated path in the style of the High Line in New York or the 606 in Chicago, with four quarter-mile legs connecting the Battery to other elements within the Cumberland area. An elevated trail is a unique, safe experience that begins to fulfill the Corbusian vision, expanding the pedestrian and cycling experience in new and innovative ways to urbanizing centers.
Perimeter Center CID & Perimeter Mall: The Perimeter Community Improvement District is a dense suburban area just north of Atlanta, home to Perimeter Mall, with four transit stations connected to the world s busiest airport. Perimeter Mall is performing well in comparison to many others like it, and CID leaders proactively seek innovation to maintain their success. Sizemore Group led a Livable Centers Initiative Study of the area, which is a program orchestrated by the Atlanta Regional Commission that blends market studies, transportation analysis and master planning for the benefit of livable centers (defined as areas of activity that exhibit development patterns consistent with walkable livability). Our research helped the community identify exactly what they wanted and needed out of the area around the mall so the CID can position the area for continued success as suburban areas are expected to adopt urban principles of livability and connectivity. As part of this study, we recommended the CID leadership focus on block size to transform the mall into a city center. Since mall foot prints are too large for traditional, pedestrian-friendly urban street grids, implementing these measures would improve the pedestrian experience, urbanize the environment and improve connectivity to the transit stations. Another recommendation that will help align this area with these principles involves focusing new demand in transit villages around stations. Finally, we recommended adding missing public and green spaces such as improved sidewalks, additional bikeways, trails, parks and other elements that support connectivity, walkability, livability and the civic realm. With these improvements, the area is better connected to transit, and connected to the mall, rich in public realm. Since the completion of our study, corporate vision has met community vision, and the CID has attracted the $1 billion headquarters of State Farm Insurance Company, which employs 8,000 people in the Atlanta region. Perimeter Mall Before Existing Mall Grid Walkable Comparison State Farm Headquarters Proposed Grid
Stonecrest Mall: Over the past 50 years, properly located regional malls tended to evolve into regional centers that attracted office and other out parcel development around the periphery of the mall. This was the intended case in the development of Stone Crest Mall, yet the area was missing the adequate regional connectivity, office demand, and growth that are necessary to attract offices as secondary development. The graded parcels meant for office parks and other uses around the mall were left vacant, and nearby hotels struggled to survive. Because this complimentary use was missing, there was little traffic during the week in the area, even though the mall was performing well on the weekends. With no demand on the horizon for office or even housing, we began to explore other options in partnership with Gibbs Planning Group. Large, level, empty land has many uses, so we evaluated the viability of performing arts centers, regional convention space, mixed-use development and more. None of these were in high demand nor would they simulate activity for the mall. To gather community input, we hosted an in-mall charrette. We learned that the community really wanted this to become the place to be. They were looking for a multi-use destination that offered transportation alternatives and created jobs. Somewhat unexpectedly, we also learned that the community was under supplied in soccer fields. The team recommended a regional sports complex with soccer fields and supporting uses on these parcels. Now known as Atlanta Sports City, the second largest multi-sports complex in the southeast is preparing to add a sports medicine pavilion in partnership with Emory University Hospital. In recognition of the experiential economy, ownership is also preparing to invest nearly $50 million into a sportsthemed pavilion connecting the mall to Sports City that will include around 250,000 square feet of restaurants, retail, attractions and green space. Breaking Down the Mall Block To Mixed-Use Pedestrian friendly Street Pattern- Savanah Model Existing Hotels 15 years : 2027 Conference Center (6000 Graduation capacity) & Corporate Office Plus Multi cultural community center, theater and market place TRAIL POLICE CORPORATE CONFERENCE AMPHITHEATER FARMERS HEAD PRECINCT OFFICE CENTER MARKET SPORTS FIELDS MIXED RETAIL & GROCERY MALL AT USE RESIDENTIAL STORE STONECREST Mall Charrette The development will create 1,900 jobs, attract 3 million annual visitors, and generate $105 million in economic impact to the county, $97 million to the state and $80 million in food and lodging. In the process, Stonecrest became a new city. Mayor Jason Larry, who was deeply involved in our planning, recently said it is our salvation. Stonecrest LCI Plan Study Area 2,485 Acres $200 Million Sports Complex coming soon