America’s malls are quickly becoming a blast of the past just like Drive-In movies and DVD’s.  This move has been prompted by so many anchor stores closing due to the retail shift of buying in stores to buying online.  But this doesn’t mean the space becomes a ghost town.  Commercial investors just need to have insight to the future.  According to commercial real estate research firm CoStar, according to Footwear News, the tenant leasing the most new square footage in malls since the start of 2017 was Planet Fitness, the fastest-growing gym chain in the U.S.

Based on a study presented by Statista, in 2017, U.S. fitness centers had total revenues of 30.01 billion U.S. dollars.  The U.S. fitness centers market consists of more than 30,000 membership-based exercise facilities. Fitness centers are operated as multi-site chains or single-location entities.

Here in Tampa, University Mall is undergoing a different type of rejuvenation.  Developers working to turn University Mall into a research village have begun demolition as the first step of the Uptown District project according to Sara Dinatale of the Tampa Bay Times.  Chris Bowen, a strategist of RD Management said in a statement, “Our local Tampa team is committed to successfully transforming the property from a traditional enclosed mall into a mixed-use, urban neighborhood development incorporating science and tech research and innovation.”

Other malls are converting their malls to churches, ice rinks, libraries, residential, government offices and museums.