With a record number of recent retail bankruptcies, and national waves of store closings, how is it that there are more malls being built or expanded? Construction on shopping centers and even on enclosed malls is at its highest level since the summer of 2008. Are real estate developers in denial?
No, they’re not. It’s just that in-person retail isn’t quite dead yet, and people and development have shifted to new parts of the country. They need shopping centers to come with them. Meanwhile, investors hope to squeeze more life out of the malls they still have, and that means renovations.
