Ghost Malls of America

[SoCalDem]

http://www.good.is/post/More-Ghost-Malls/
The Mornging News has aremarkable photo gallery of deserted malls and big-box stores. Most of the pictures are from 2008 and 2009. In the accompanying interview the photographer, Brian Ulrich, explains how he finds these locations and what he thinks should be done with them:

snip


Of course, there are lots of other ideas for what to do with deserted malls.

[nemo137]

1. I like the idea of turning them into community spaces

But sometimes they're just poorly located.

[FreakinDJ]

14. Homeless Shelter

That will teach those corporate cork soakers

[Adsos Letter]

35. +1

[midnight]

2. It seems to me that you can't create communities for spending and then

turn around and send community jobs to other countries.... Unless of course the agenda is to create ghost malls.

[G_j]

3. that's a lot of wasted money and space

and I'm sure a lot trees were removed to make room for these now empty shells.

There is something incredibly American about these photos.

[FarCenter]

27. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwUJH70ubM

[defendandprotect]

4. At least, temporary housing for the homeless???

[NMMNG]

5. Indeed

We always need more of that, sadly.

[SoCalDem]

6. The problem is always logistical though

they would provide shelter from the elements, but then there are transportation problems, and safety issues, and how to pay for the power, water & sanitation needs for who know how many people..

It always comes down to money.. It's "cheaper" to just abandon them, lock them up, and let them crumble:(

[defendandprotect]

16. I was amazed that states/towns are barred from providing permanent housing

for homeless -- they're limited to temporary housing --

That's why NYC had such huge expenses for hotels, etal ---!!!

Absolutely insane -- !!!

In fact, they've been making homelessness illegal --

homeless ending up in prison!!

I've decided that purely and simply the right wing is fascism!!!



:evilgrin:

[Laughing Mirror]

7. Sears had everything

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. I suppose walmart could take over the entire mall ...

Nah. Why use an existing building when you can bulldoze 50 acres and build a new one?

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. WalMart tried to take over a bankrupt mall here

We fought them and won. The mall was torn down and the economy crashed so now we have a big vacant lot. Better than a WalMart though:)

[Shagbark Hickory]

18. That's what you think. You should have let them build the walmart. You might actually be able to

sell your home if you wanted to.

I'm not sticking up for walmart but there is one consistent fact that a walmart in the area increases home values not decrease them.

Personally, I think walmart should open some hospitals and train stations. Walmart operates in a radical fashion that I can appreciate and they could make it work.

[Deja Q]

20. Pity walmart's workers cannot afford to buy any of those homes

[Shagbark Hickory]

25. Walmart pays fair wages. It's everyone else that pays exhorbitant wages and runs the prices up on

everything else making walmart wages unsustainable.

[Salviati]

26. What the heck kind of logic is that?

"Walmart pays fair wages, it's just that everyting is too expensive, that's what the problem is..."

I'm curious what your definition of "fair wages" is?

[Shagbark Hickory]

40. My definition of fair wages is a living wage for one person at least . In my area that would be

about 22k annually to start. $11 per hour.

The cost of living continues to rise because of the wealthy. There needs to be an equalization of wages and salaries so that it's a level playing field and people at least have a chance.

[Hannah Bell]

31. "walmart in the area increases home values not decrease" false. number 2.

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:l-dlN-OTqSAJ:corpethics.org/downloads/northcross_no_walmart.pdf+walmart+decreases+property+vlues&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESikTIb1nI4Y1V2104Dho1quQQryspEHczqkU2Da75bgRQlMU39vfSOOLrmuC4vfcQrZi9vEQor0VNQX28IfvyfYbfhnjGt50sUKGi_Yc8Y12-1r4kCtgE0hwLprRV29CPmVF5lU&sig=AHIEtbSRMMYjuni7vvFYthXnV-aPniUHRA

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. We already have two WalMarts within a few miles

This one was a mega WalMart and our local economy wouldn't have supported it.

[mitchum]

34. Fucking incredible

[walldude]

38. Wal-Mart increases home values? Are you serious?

I find that hard to believe... and hospitals and train stations? Again, are you serious? You want a company who's main plan is to sell as much shoddy made crap as cheaply as possible to run your hospital? Good plan! Discount open heart surgery! Can't afford the Jarvik heart? We have some made in China half the cost and not quite as effective! :rofl:

My friend, I hate to say this but that is by far the dumbest idea I have heard in a long time.

[Shagbark Hickory]

39. I've given up on waiting for the government to do it. Walmart is our only hope.

That's all I'm saying.

If we aren't going to have public infrastructure projects because the powers that be don't want it, then we have to wait for the private sector to do it.

I was being sarcastic about them building hospitals and train stations but the rate at which they have expanded globally and their efficiencies lead me to believe they could make it happen.
They already have health clinics in a number of stores. They have the means to, if not build themselves, to invest in a high speed rail line.

[arcadian]

45. "I'm not sticking up for Walmart but..."

Yes. Yes you are. And you are supporting a corporatocracy where Wal-Mart is the only game in town. Disgusting.

[jmowreader]

21. Because a mall is the wrong shape to become a Walmart

Walmarts are basically clear-span buildings; repurposing a mall into a Walmart would require tearing out all the interior partitions and reinforcing the roof system, plus building a stockroom. It's cheaper to build a whole new store that isn't an old mall than it is to convert an old mall into a big box.

Sometimes you can convert one big box into another fairly cheaply--there are a lot of Hobby Lobbys that used to be Walmarts, and the Garden Ridge chain never builds, they always convert another building. (Their corporate headquarters is a former enclosed mall they split into three pieces: headquarters, store and distribution center.) Walmart apparently needs something in their stockroom no one else does.

[blue_onyx]

23. Exactly what happened here

We had two empty malls. One was torn down and a Walmart was built a few years ago. The second mall was torn down this year and another Walmart is being built.

[Shagbark Hickory]

8. I say we turn them into train depots.... for the high speed rail lines we were sorta promised n/t

[DemReadingDU]

10. turn malls into schools or art centers. n/t

[DemReadingDU]

11. Dead Malls websites

http://www.labelscar.com/
http://www.labelscar.com/site-map directory by state

http://www.deadmalls.com/

[Echo In Light]

12. _

[KG]

17. exactly, they'd be great places to house zombies.

:thumbsup:

[grahamhgreen]

13. Give them to the homeless and unemployed and break up walmart....

[Deja Q]

19. Sad.

Pity we can't fill them with small businesses and jump-start the economy.

[TheMightyFavog]

22. Best use of a dead mall ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcv4T9Auy0U

Shot at the abandoned Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, IL.

[RubyDuby in GA]

24. Not to nit pick - well maybe

"one giant Costco roof like in the movie Wall-E in the future" - it was actually Idiocracy that had the giant Costco. Wall-e has BNL Buy-N-Large.

That being said, the only store locally that has ever been repurposed is a Target. Target Corp. built a newer, bigger one about a mile from the original site. The original site has been repurposed as a LA Fitness and that place is always packed out. Kudos to Target for that one, unlike the 2 (yes 2!!!) empty old Wal-Marts that sit idle in my town, both less than a mile away from the shiny new SuperCenter.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

28. Miles and miles of "For Lease" signs endlessly sprouting, like mushrooms after a rain

here in the South Bay of LA.

We are still sinking lower and the tide is still rising. Grab your preservers.

[upi402]

29. Housing the homeless and clinics

But where's the profit in that?

People need to eat food and live indoors before they need art and education.

[FarCenter]

30. Retail buildings don't work well as office space conversions

I've worked in a former large store converted to offices. It was for over a year while an office building was being expanded.

I've also been in former mall buildings converted to offices, business operations spaces, and call centers.

Flimsy construction, high ceilings, leaky roof, etc., do not lend to energy efficient business environments.

Furthermore, likely the mall was regarded as a plum rateable by the local politicians. Getting them to give up the property taxes to a reasonable level would be difficult, and would likely make the conversion infeasible.

Generally, there is a good reason that these buildings are standing empty.

[surrealAmerican]

33. You bring up an important point here.

Many malls are very poorly constructed, and thus have no real chance of being re-purposed.

[TheMightyFavog]

36. No kidding

Here's pics from the abandoned Port Plaza Mall in downtown Green Bay, WI 1977-2006. Photos were taken earlier this year.

http://www.phixation.com/misc/portplaza/

It's been about 4 years, and there's standing water everywhere. It'd be an absolute bear to renovate.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

37. Could be straight out of a Stephen King novel.

Creepy.

[arcadian]

46. "Getting them to give up the property taxes to a reasonable level would be difficult"

I'm guessing Wal-Mart doesn't have a problem with that scenario. Actually what Wal-mart does is move just over the county/city line if the municipality doesn't cooperate with their building desires.

[SoCalDem]

48. Around here, "tax-holidays" are part to the initial negotiation

to "win" the mall or big-box... and then when the holiday is about to end, negotiations begin to extend them... and if the town says no...well you know what happens then...

and of course all the smaller tax-paying companies that were 86-ed? well they're not paying taxes either

[Earth_First]

41. I have a hard time believing that the Dixie Square Mall went under in 2008

I am in the property maintenance industry and it takes alot longer than two years for a property to get to that point...

[SoCalDem]

42. Unless it was a dooomed project from the get-go, and went on

because of contractual agreements.

Our mall has had EMPTY anchor locations for over a decade...I can't see how it stays open:shrug:

[RedRocco]

44. Dixie Square was shuttered in 1978

not 2008

[lib2DaBone]

43. I vote for the KFC Pic.. it just says "america 2009"

[arcadian]

47. That America Fuck yeah pic is so not right.

But it completely captures American's attitude to war. :thumbsup: