4 ms·
It's kind of fun to see all the new takes on malls. In/around NYC we have a few that I actually use: - Hudson Yards - a pretty good destination with a small k
by quartz 4y ago
It's kind of fun to see all the new takes on malls. In/around NYC we have a few that I actually use:
- Hudson Yards - a pretty good destination with a small kid on a rainy day and easy to get to via the subway. Big and open, has a Camp store (with slide and play area), good sit down and take-away food options, and surrounded by some fun outdoor city stuff (my son LOVES watching the train yard across the street, and the highline is right there).
- American Dream in NJ - More like an indoor collection of amusement parks, we use the Legoland Experience and the Aquarium reasonably often and when my son is a little older we'll likely use the Nickelodeon theme park and the indoor water park which looks pretty fun. This poor place opened right at the start of the pandemic, hope it survives.
- Ridge Hill in Yonkers - Sort of an outdoor mall... has another Legoland experience, but also a pretty good mini golf and arcade (it's really hard to find a good arcade for little kids in NYC) and a trampoline park we might get to try one day.
What really makes these malls work is they have unique and fun experiences rather than just the typical department-store-anchored "get your daily errands done like it's 1980 and amazon doesn't exist" experiences.
I do miss the malls of my youth (RIP South Square [1]), but economically most of those stores don't make any sense anymore and I don't see why they'd come back. I'm sure not going to start driving to a mall to go to a Radio Shack anymore.
[1] https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/south-square https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/south-square
- tricolon 4y agoand then there's the World Trade Center
- post_break 4y agoThe American Dream is going to go belly up soon if I had to guess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ZcFguYn3U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ZcFguYn3U
- quartz 4y agoIt really was constructed strangely (feels like an 80s mall in the darker corridors). I feel like the actual attractions are cool but the connections between them are not inviting in a way that makes you want to explore our stick around.
- mmastrac 4y agoWe visited Hudson Yards a few months back and it was a beautiful area. Easy to get to, highly walkable and very friendly feeling.
- lokalfarm 4y agoI grew up going to South Square too. Lots of fond memories. I've also been living near Northgate for the last decade or so, and that has been a depressing experience. Watching it decay, finally shut down, and some of the newer, more attractive nearby tenants like Planet Fitness now packing up shop has been incredibly saddening. I just hope Randy's Pizza and C&H Cafeteria will stick around, but it's more likely the entire strip with be torn down to be developed into condos that start at $2k/mo. I would love to see some of these spaces be repurposed for more affordable housing, which we desperately need, but it isn't "financially feasible" in the eyes of these developers [1]. This recent news clip was almost hilariously blunt in the way things have been trending here [2]. [1] https://indyweek.com/news/durham/northgate-mall-durham-rezoning-walltown-plans/ https://indyweek.com/news/durham/northgate-mall-durham-rezon... [2] https://www.wral.com/local-business-owners-pushing-back-against-developers-plan-to-build-over-durham-parking-deck/20453837/ https://www.wral.com/local-business-owners-pushing-back-agai...
- spread_love 4y agolol no one goes to Hudson Yards. They were banking on tourists and (The Vessel is closed) and commercial leases. 36% of office space is empty, highest in Midtown [1]. The mall lost Neiman Marcus. pdf https://www.avisonyoung.us/documents/92404/1115504/AY+Q2+2022+Manhattan+Office+Market+Report+v_02.pdf/6ea2739f-bc11-70ec-792d-6a74591b96fc?t=1657044752840 https://www.avisonyoung.us/documents/92404/1115504/AY+Q2+202...
- listenallyall 4y agoLol American Dream. Sat half-built for over a decade, sold and resold, opened years late, in a location everyone wants to avoid (due to stadium/arena traffic) in a county already overflowing with malls AND with blue laws that don't allow shopping on Sundays. And now it missed its bond payment. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/06/american-dream-new-jersey-mall-default.html&ved=2ahUKEwj2ravu4JD6AhUhLkQIHSmzBUwQFnoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2jPHhaDNKYy-p3C0YmFSPq https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https:/... American Dream was basically a bet that casinos would be legalized in North Jersey and American Dream would be the perfect location. 7-out!