Has ‘Mall’ Become The Newest Four-Letter Word?
Demalling has becoming a trend. Here are several centers that are doing it.
Tipton Housewright, AIA and John Hampton, AIA

In many respects, “mall” has become a four-letter word in our current retail vocabulary. No one wants a mall anymore. Communities want a “town center.” Customers want more convenience. Architects want to create an authentic urban experience. None of these constituencies thinks of a mall as the retail format of choice. So what are developers supposed to do with the 1,200 or so enclosed malls in America? Increasingly, the answer is to “demall” them.

In addition to being poor grammar, what exactly is demalling? The definition of demalling would include any project that takes an existing, enclosed retail center and creates new outdoor shopping, while in the process redefines the property in the minds of its customers. In other words, the center adopts design elements from town centers, lifestyle centers, resort retail or power centers in a way so that the whole exceeds the sum of the parts.

Santa Monica Place is currently going through the ‘demalling’ process. Credit: Omniplan in collaboration with design architect Jerde Partners

In practice, demalling can take several different forms. A total demalling project is one in which the enclosed common area becomes an outdoor common area or is converted to retail space. Omniplan is currently engaged in the demalling of Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, California. The three-story, enclosed suburban mall is being redesigned as a completely outdoor center to fit in with the urban street retail in downtown Santa Monica. By converting to an open-air center, Santa Monica Place will be much more connected to the retail district that surrounds the property and will offer the outdoor shopping environment desired by today’s customers and retailers.

A partial demalling project is one in which some of the existing leasable area of a shopping center is reoriented to an exterior pedestrian promenade or to a parking area. The benefit of a partial demalling project is that it can provide a convenient, outdoor retail experience similar to a lifestyle center or town center. In fact, it can help an existing mall property compete against these newer formats by offering both an enclosed, all-weather, shopping experience and an outdoor experience.

By demolishing a vacant department store, Park Meadows in Denver will include 193,000 square feet of outdoor space for retail shops and restaurants. Credit: Omniplan

An outdoor component at an existing center can often help an older property attract newer, lifestyle tenants that can help redefine the center in the customer’s mind. This type of project has become very common as department stores consolidate and close locations, leaving vacant buildings. Rather than being a burden to existing properties, these vacant department stores have presented an opportunity to mall owners to create new outdoor districts consisting of lifestyle retailers, restaurants and theatres. Omniplan is creating such an outdoor retail district at Park Meadows in Denver. By demolishing a vacant department store, the new design includes 193,000 square feet of retail shops and four new restaurants that will complement the existing interior shopping center.

A successful demalling project must address a number of planning and design issues. The first of these is entitlement, zoning and Reciprocal Easement Agreement (REA) considerations. These projects frequently add more leasable area to the project and therefore may trigger zoning and REA considerations. Related to these issues, of course, is parking. How much existing parking is available and will it need to be supplemented by new parking structures, or can existing parking ratios be decreased in order to reduce the parking deficit?

Entitlement issues can consume a great deal of time and energy in the development and design process. Communities will frequently require the developer to redesign the center as a part of the demalling to make it more unique to its locale or to coordinate with local architectural guidelines.

A demalling project can lead to the exploration of increased density and the introduction of mixed-use components. The addition of residential, hotel or office space can help “demall” a property, while adding density and activity. Some communities embrace density and mixed-use designs, while others prohibit it on the grounds that they create too much traffic and congestion.

Converting Santa Monica Place to an open-air center will allow more connection to the surrounding retail district. Credit: Omniplan in collaboration with design architect Jerde Partners

If the project involves exposing interior space to the elements, waterproofing should be addressed very early. The redevelopment and redesign of Santa Monica Place will require waterproofing of its common area walking surfaces to protect portions of the tenant lease space below. A warranted membrane system should be used for these types of roof areas. The type of paving selected for use with the membrane will have to be compatible. This dual requirement will most likely result in a topping slab or thick set paver selection, whose thickness may dictate replacement of the existing structure to a new lower height to accommodate a smooth transition at the entry into the lease area. The weight of this new system would also have to be analyzed within the modified structural system.

What were once indoor flat surfaces will now have to slope for positive drainage. A topping slab will allow this to happen, but the weight of the system on the existing will realistically restrict the depth of the topping. Careful consideration will have to be made to the type and location of the drain bodies to keep the topping within its minimum and maximum thickness parameters and still meet maximum slope restrictions.

The tenant storefront systems will need to be analyzed for weather resistance. Most likely the remedial work to the existing tenant storefronts will be extensive and the scope of the work will need to be assessed with tenant operations. At Santa Monica Place, the redevelopment will require that the mall close during construction to expedite the process and ensure safety. Lease agreements will need to be coordinated with the construction schedule. The existing building mechanical systems will have to be analyzed against new envelope parameters and the current position in their lifecycle. The common area air conditioning could be eliminated if the existing common area converted to outdoors; however, the tenant area will now have new and increased exposure to the elements. Most likely, the conditioning requirements removed from the common area will have to be added to the tenant area. Some savings could be realized if the new bulkhead and storefronts utilize the latest in energy efficient construction, provided that this need is communicated in the owner’s tenant criteria.

The light levels for the common area will not be as high for an outdoor center as for an indoor center during daytime or night time operating hours. During the maintenance period, however, the lighting system will need to be similar to current interior mall building standards. This will have to be considered when designing the exterior lighting levels and control systems.

Westfield Louis Joliet in Illinois is currently undergoing ‘demalling’ efforts by adding surrounding buildings to create an outdoor lifestyle component. Credit: Omniplan in collaboration with Westfield Design

The vertical transportation systems for an outdoor center will have more impact to the tenant lease area. An outdoor escalator will be required to be covered. This covering will widen the footprint of the escalator and, without careful consideration, block sightlines to surrounding lease areas.

Current national building code recognizes the mall building as a special mixed- use occupancy connected by a covered common area or mall. If the roof is removed, the resulting project may not fall under current mall building code definition. This would impact multiple aspects of an existing mall building such as exiting, allowable building area, allowable building height and building construction type. It is important to determine how the project’s design will be interpreted by the local authorities that have jurisdiction. The Santa Monica Place redevelopment is currently being permitted as a mall building without a roof, while projects like Louis Joliet in Joliet, Illinois, and The Vistas at Park

The Vistas at Park Meadows will be permitted as individual buildings. Credit: Omniplan

will be permitted as individual buildings. These individual buildings will have a requirement for a minimum distance between buildings to consider, which can affect the design of the exterior common area. While the mall building without a roof is an interpretation of the current code, the individual buildings are specifically allowed but potentially more restrictive unless a creative leasing and common area plan can be developed early.

For the occasional need for weather protection and aesthetic need for scale, a canopy system should be addressed early in a project with an exterior common area. The impact of the added façade loads will have to be absorbed by the building structural system. If the canopies are to be provided by the tenant, then a reasonable load factor will have to be agreed upon with the structural engineer. At SanTan Village in Gilbert, Arizona, the canopies were provided by the owner. The canopy styles were outlined in a schedule to assist in communication for the inevitable last minute revisions. The canopy design should also be checked against the local fire codes. Local interpretations of the code may dictate the need for a fire suppressions system or a limitation of canopy size or materials. Cold weather eliminated inexpensive exterior fire suppression systems at Louis Joliet, thus limiting the depth of the canopy. The Vistas at Park Meadows is employing a three-tier canopy system. A taller canopy roof system was developed for scale. A second tier was introduced to give direct weather protection to the user. The third tier is the tenant canopy systems, which may or may not provide protection but would be required for tenant identification.

Demalling will be a major part of retail development and design for many years to come. Enclosed, regional shopping centers are typically well-located real estate that can be redesigned to extend its life for years to come. Demalling is a proven way to transform a mall property from a dated, predictable retail experience to an attractive and competitive asset. SCB

Tipton (Tip) Housewright, AIA, LEED AP, and John Hampton, AIA, LEED AP, specialize in the design of retail facilities throughout the country. They are based in the Dallas office of Omniplan, a national architecture, interior architecture and planning firm.