Mall owners with empty space to fill could look to Detroit’s 600,000-square-foot Mall of Monroe for ideas. Property owner Cafaro continues to transform its empty department stores into new uses, and for the first time in 10 years, all the large anchor spaces will be filled. The tenants represent new uses, too: self-storage, an outdoor gear showroom, an experiential outdoor retailer, a house of worship and a creative agency’s headquarters.

CubeSmart will spend $4 million to redevelop a 78,786-square-foot former Sears into an indoor, climate-controlled self-storage facility that will open this year. The mall’s 51,393-square-foot former JCPenney that then became a Pat Catan’s now will become a showroom for Ragnarok Supply Co. and Ragnarok Motorworks, an outdoor gear retailer and servicer that customizes customers’ cars and trucks for off-road uses. And outdoor gear retailer Domka Outdoors, which features an indoor archery range, will open in the mall’s 56,801-square-foot former Carson’s department store in May.

Another 42,000 square feet formerly owned by Carson’s is now occupied by Monroe City Church. And the mall already is home to the headquarters of Leviathan Group, a company that handles marketing and product placement. Additionally, Quality Auto Parts has acquired a nearly-97,000-square-foot store connected to the mall. Target had owned and operated it for many years.

Stamford Town Center was once home to branches of Saks Off 5th, Ann Taylor, Apple, Gap and Uniqlo, but those tenants have left and won’t be replaced. Like many malls that have experienced retail flight, it’s undergoing a reinvention, according to the Stamford Advocate. Celebrity chef Todd English’s hospitality group will run a food hall that joins existing experience-based tenants; a ballet school took over the Ann Taylor location, a Fun Palace play center is in a former Foot Locker and a fitness center occupies the former Apple Store. “I think Stamford Town Center has to reinvent itself, and I think you’re seeing that with some of the tenants that are signing there and are more creative and out of the box,” said Cushman & Wakefield executive director Vince Maniscalco. “And we’re seeing mall properties nationally moving to different formats.”

A developer will demolish most of Massachusetts’ Billerica Mall near Boston to create a mixed-use complex called The Shoppes and Residences at Billerica. An 84,000-square-foot former Kmart store will come down to make way for a 43,000-square-foot supermarket, and the project also will include 18,000 square feet of restaurant space and 200 apartments.

Combining Retail with Entertainment and Creative Office

The New Jersey Meadowlands’ 3 million-square-foot American Dream retail and entertainment complex is making a play to draw music fans. Under a multiyear contract, Live Nation will host events and concerts, launch parties for new songs and albums, tour kickoff parties, pop-up shops for performers and fan events. The property’s tiered galleries overlook large spaces, an ideal design for events, according to Live Nation. American Dream already has been appealing to crowds at night with ticketed DJ events in its amusement park.

Oak View Group will break ground in 2023 on a $3 billion, 25-acre entertainment district south of the Las Vegas Strip that will include an 850,000-square-foot sports arena, a casino, a hotel and an additional open-air entertainment venue. Oak View Group recently opened the $1.2 billion, 18,100-seat Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. It’s the world’s first net-zero-carbon-certified arena and home to the National Hockey League’s Seattle Kraken.

Veteran- and minority-led Renascence Equity Ventures has agreed to join a development team to build the nonprofit Hip Hop Hall of Fame hotel, office, residential, retail and entertainment complex in Midtown Manhattan. It also will feature the Space, Tech, Arts, Research & Science Institute, which will train New Yorkers and underserved students for careers and entrepreneurship in STEAM areas.

Stream secured a construction loan to develop The Quad, a 487,000-square-foot mixed-use property in Uptown Dallas. Stream acquired the 3.8-acre site in 2019 and has secured approvals for additional height and density requirements. As such, a 335,000-square-foot creative office tower and five standalone retail bungalows totaling 14,800 square feet will join an existing 131,000-square-foot office building. JLL Capital Markets arranged the loan through MSD Partners.