The Daily Mall Reader: Laurel Mall Redevelopment

A daily dose of mall-related reading...

"New Owners to Bring New Life to Laurel Mall"

Washington Post - Monday, February 5, 2007

(Excerpt) The owners of Laurel Mall last week announced a plan to turn the ailing shopping center into a walkable town center with restaurants, a movie theater and national chain retailers.

The mall has been a sore spot on Route 1 in Prince George's County for years, steadily losing traffic and tenants. Sixteen percent of store space is empty, mall owners said, with Macy's, Burlington Coat Factory and International Furniture Liquidators as anchors.

Last year, real estate investment firms Somera Capital Management of Los Angeles and AEW Capital Management of Boston bought the center for $31 million from Blackstone Group of New York. The mall had encountered financial troubles and was placed in a court-appointed receivership the year before.

Read the full article here.

Mall Audio: Modern Shopping Mall Life Cycles

On May 20, of last month, the state of the American shopping mall (or de-mall) was discussed on a segment of NPR's (National Public Radio) All Things Considered show. California's Sherman Oaks Galleria is mentioned, along with Northgate Center (Seattle) and Laurel Mall (Washington DC). Click the title below to visit the page and listen to the segment.

"A Mall Makeover" - Shopping malls are an icon of American pop culture, but they face extinction unless they modernize. Debbie Elliott visits a Washington, D.C., area mall that's getting a makeover for the 21st century.

Thanks to Chris, of Exquisitely Bored in Nacogdoches, for the link!