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I thought I might bring this up because I really find this idea interesting. Andrew Yang, who is currently running as a presidential candidate for 2020, posted today. In it, he discussed how 30% of malls are scheduled to close within the next four years and how it's difficult to keep these big spaces filled.

And he also discussed his proposal called the . To summarize, the American Mall Act would be a $6 billion U.S. government program that would give grants and money to communities and private developers to help struggling malls attract businesses, schools, organizations and entrepreneurs to find new purposes for those spaces.

Regardless of what you think about the government getting involved in this, he does bring up a legitimate point. Malls are dying. Spaces that were once home to massive shopping hubs are now mostly abandoned. It's real. Back in the summer of 2017, I visited the West Valley Mall in Tracy, California. And it was . And indeed, it was quite eerie.

If anything, we do need to find better and more of a variety of purposes for these large spaces. A good role model that current mall owners could go off of for revamping themselves is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the context of its history, this space initially opened as the Winrock Mall in 1961. It was the first modern commercial shopping mall in the State of New Mexico. But because of how competitive they got with the nearby Coronado Center and the opening of the Uptown center, it was closed for the most part in 2007.

Today, it's being revamped as a mixed-use town center. And while it's still not near completion yet, it has enjoyed plenty of success thus far. The former TGI Friday's was turned into a Genghis Grill. The old UA movie theater was demolished and a new Dave and Buster's replaced it. There's now a Regal Cinemas on the east side of the property that includes an IMAX theater. The former Toys "R" Us was turned into a fitness gym. Several new restaurants, including BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Sauce Pizza and Wine, Crackin' Crab, and many more have opened there. Nordstrom Rack, Ulta Beauty, and Skechers have also opened there.

And in the near future? New Mexico Orthopaedics will be moving to the second floor of one of the buildings there. And there's plans for a park, a hotel, and even condos if I remember correctly.

Nevertheless, it is my honest opinion that we should try to find new purposes for these increasingly abandoned malls that help to benefit the communities around them. And more importantly, the economy.

Would love to know your thoughts: How do you think abandoned malls should be revived? And do you think the government should or should not give grants for these purposes?

I thought I might bring this up because I really find this idea interesting. Andrew Yang, who is currently running as a presidential candidate for 2020, posted [a video on Twitter](https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1147609257673670661) today. In it, he discussed how 30% of malls are scheduled to close within the next four years and how it's difficult to keep these big spaces filled. And he also discussed his proposal called the [American Mall Act](https://www.yang2020.com/policies/american-mall-act/). To summarize, the American Mall Act would be a $6 billion U.S. government program that would give grants and money to communities and private developers to help struggling malls attract businesses, schools, organizations and entrepreneurs to find new purposes for those spaces. Regardless of what you think about the government getting involved in this, he does bring up a legitimate point. Malls are dying. Spaces that were once home to massive shopping hubs are now mostly abandoned. It's real. Back in the summer of 2017, I visited the West Valley Mall in Tracy, California. And it was [nearly empty in terms of crowds](https://pic8.co/sh/5HnzYb.jpg). And indeed, it was quite eerie. If anything, we do need to find better and more of a variety of purposes for these large spaces. A good role model that current mall owners could go off of for revamping themselves is [Winrock Town Center](https://winrocktowncenter.com/about-winrock/) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the context of its history, this space initially opened as the Winrock Mall in 1961. It was the first modern commercial shopping mall in the State of New Mexico. But because of how competitive they got with the nearby Coronado Center and the opening of the Uptown center, it was closed for the most part in 2007. Today, it's being revamped as a mixed-use town center. And while it's still not near completion yet, it has enjoyed plenty of success thus far. The former TGI Friday's was turned into a Genghis Grill. The old UA movie theater was demolished and a new Dave and Buster's replaced it. There's now a Regal Cinemas on the east side of the property that includes an IMAX theater. The former Toys "R" Us was turned into a fitness gym. Several new restaurants, including BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Sauce Pizza and Wine, Crackin' Crab, and many more have opened there. Nordstrom Rack, Ulta Beauty, and Skechers have also opened there. And in the near future? New Mexico Orthopaedics will be moving to the second floor of one of the buildings there. And there's plans for a park, a hotel, and even condos if I remember correctly. Nevertheless, it is my honest opinion that we should try to find new purposes for these increasingly abandoned malls that help to benefit the communities around them. And more importantly, the economy. Would love to know your thoughts: How do you think abandoned malls should be revived? And do you think the government should or should not give grants for these purposes?

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[–] • 5 pts (edited )

Not something the government should be involved in. If the mall is going to die, let it. Many are being converted as you describe. That seems to work in a lot of places, and it should be done with private money.

[–] [deleted] • 3 pts (edited )

Agreed. I think government handouts of money, especially to private companies, are a real slippery-slope. They do usually have good intentions of wanting to boost the economy. But most of the time, one of two things happens:

  1. The private company usually overestimates how much economic impact they think they'll have and won't live up to the promises they state to the local and state governments.
  2. The private company threatens to leave if the government even remotely tries to hold them accountable for anything shady.
[–] • 1 pt

The private company threatens to leave

We see this all the time with sports teams, if the tax payers don't sign up to build these multi million dollar complexes.

Yes these teams do add a lot of value for local economies, but in the end why are the tax payers subsidizing millionaires and billionaires?