I REALLY dislike the European shopping village concept. I have no idea why someone would think anything is better than an enclosed space that is air conditioned and dry. I think I've posted this before, but they could at least make condos out of old malls....just leaving a couple of useful markets and food court. I would so enjoy living in one!!!!! This is sad:
One of the reasons that old malls are likely to remain empty until they fall apart, I think, is that the cities they are in refuse to adjust their tax obligations accordingly. A mall that was once filled with active department stores and shops would bring in enough money that the city would do very well in taxes from it. However, when the popularity of the mall decreases and its slots are filled with businesses that don't bring in that kind of volume, the taxes don't allow them to stay in business. Plus, of course, there is the problem of maintaining older buildings and parking places. The more ruts that appear in a mall parking lot, the less likely people are going to be to go there. That's one of the problems with the Bangor, Maine mall. They've closed half the entrances and exits rather than repairing the holes in the parking lot. In some cities, malls have been turned into indoor walking spaces, with shops catering to an entirely different market, but one that doesn't bring in the kind of money that the big box stores once did. Others have been turned into things like laser tag centers or something on that order, but the city can't expect to collect the same kind of tax revenue from such a thing. But this thread is about Sears and/or its work-skills training advice. Go ahead and keep talking about malls if you want to. If it turns into a topic, I'll split the thread.