Is there a way for Montreal to revitalize the city's dead malls without demolishing them? (not that they're architectural gems or anything, but I'm open to innovative ideas)
Half of Mall Cavendish was demolished and the land sold to developers in a last ditch attempt to salvage it. Cavendish Mall had become a hangout for the elderly, instead of the coveted young adult demographic.
Then there's the uber dead Decarie Square. The majority of that mall is shuttered. Mostly liquidation outlets and the Dollar Cinema (a former Cineplex Odeon twin) remain. This is where retail goes to die.
Plaza Cote-des-Neiges, however oudated its decor may be, might be on the verge of a second life. Walmart is taking over their Zellers location. With a major-league tenant in the wings, the desirability of their location is sure to push rents up.
What to do about the others?
This brings to mind the story of two malls in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Both were across the street from one another. One was called the Wildwood Mall; the other was the Circle Mall. In the mid-90s, both were dying.
In order to breathe new life into them, an underground tunnel was constructed linking the two malls together and several cinemas (a Cineplex and a Rainbow) were added to bring in nearby families.
With that, the mall was rebranded as one: The Centre at Circle and 8th.
It's now doing very well for itself.
It's my understanding that Decarie Square once had the option to be hooked up with Namur Metro or something to that effect. I think not having the mall with direct access to the metro was a real killer for it. The parking lot of that mall gets kind of creepy.
For a mall to standout in a city replete with shopping malls, it needs to bring in what nobody else has in order to make it hip. What that key thing is I'm not sure yet.
