The glory days of large indoor malls are over.They once served as a community gathering spot and, in the days before Internet shopping, the rare place where people could browse hundreds of stores to appeal to every taste. They are not coming back.Instead, new and emerging shopping destinations might feature thousands of apartments, gyms, and public spaces like splash pads, with stores and restaurants speckled throughout. Developers and urban planners are after places that serve many purposes, not one. They aim to create experiences and destinations.A pile of rubble has replaced what was once the Southwest’s largest indoor mall, and apartments, restaurants and construction crews dot the site where one of north Phoenix’s traditional shopping malls stood.“There will never be another standalone, traditional mall built in this country,” David Larcher, CEO of Vestar, the developer and owner of several open-air shopping centers in the Phoenix area, including Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace. Vestar was recently named the operator of Scottsdale Quarter for its new owners, FalconEye Ventures.Changes to consumer habits, like online shopping and food delivery, have steered customers away from the traditional, enclosed mall. Some staples of traditional malls, like JCPenney and Sears, have shuttered most of their locations, leaving large vacancies at existing malls.Demolition on the shuttered Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix began in 2021 and was soon followed by Fiesta Mall in 2023 and Metrocenter in 2024.Across those three malls, more than 3.8 million square feet of buildings were demolished, clearing 260 acres of prime real estate for new development.In total, five malls, including those three, have been redeveloped in some way, razing or converting nearly 5 million square feet of buildings on 348 acres of land. By comparison, Scottsdale Fashion Square is about 2 million square feet on 67 acres.But while some of the region’s legacy malls are coming down and making way for new development, a tight retail market has pushed some developers to take the leap on new large-scale retail projects.Those projects aim to incorporate new real estate trends to keep their developments viable, such as adding residential space or focusing more on restaurants than traditional shopping.The redevelopments also reshape the surrounding neighborhoods. After the redevelopment of Park Central in midtown Phoenix, the area around it was named a bioscience corridor, drawing new medical companies to the area.In areas that have languished, such as those around Metrocenter, developers and cities are expecting the influx of new development and capital expense to inject new life.Mesa: A tightened focus on doing retail rightIn Mesa, city leaders are trying to find the right locations and mix of businesses for the city’s retail corridors.The city created a strategy in 2024 focused on adding retail, restaurant, hospitality and entertainment offerings in Mesa, Jaye O’Donnell, the city’s economic development director, said.“Residents have wanted higher quality retail and destination retail,” O’Donnell said. “Economic development hadn’t really focused on retail before; it was mostly core industry. This was an opportunity to add another industry focus that was important for us to stay competitive as a community.”But attracting retail now looks different: It’s not funneling all major stores to the nearest mall, she said.The city has many retail areas, such as the Asian District, which have grown to attract specific types of businesses. As Mesa expands and new developments are built, adding retail in the right places makes those areas distinctive and draws business activity to them.She pointed to recent Mesa projects that include different types of retail and some highly specialized entertainment.Cannon Beach, a 37-acre mixed-use project anchored by a surfing lagoon, recently opened near Power and Warner roads. The development includes surf-themed activities, such as the lagoon, a stationary surf pool and a cliff diving pool. It also includes several restaurants and is planned to have a hotel.Medina Station, a proposed development tha …
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