With retail trends changing, Southlake Mall’s future unclear
The shopping mall of the 1970s and ’80s has long lost its luster.
Shopping habits have changed in the past 20 years, with more buyers choosing the internet over brick-andmortar stores, and returning to the mom-and-pop stores in the downtown areas they abandoned years ago.
More and more retail stores are filing bankruptcy, leaving gaping holes in the massive malls that popped up all over the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic has added more challenges, with people seeking quick entrances and exits from stores.
Many malls have already been shuttered. Some were repurposed into different uses — from churches to schools to corporate headquarters. Others were demolished, paving the way for a different use in its place.
Coresight Resrach estimates that 25% of the country’s remaining 1,000 malls will close within three to five years.
Southlake Mall in Hobart has fared better than most, but it’s on the auction block, the current owner, Southlake 1st Co. Ltd. having defaulted on its loans. In the meantime, it’s continuing to function as mostly retail.
What the Hobart mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street will look like in the future depends on the buyer and their vision, but one thing is certain, according to Karen Lauerman, president and CEO of Lake County Economic Alliance.
“The in-person ‘retail mix’ that we were accustomed to pre-pandemic is going to look different moving forward,” Lauerman said.
Weighing the possibilities
Built in 1974, Southlake is a Class A super regional mall totaling 1.365 million square feet of gross leasable space on a 127.9-acre parcel, according to its listing on Ri Marketplace.
While two of its four anchors — Sears and Carsons — are gone, the listing said it’s still 96% occupied.
Representatives for the listing agent for the mall, Cushman & Wakefield, did not return phone calls for comment on whether there is a potential buyer and the mall’s general manager did not respond to calls seeking comment.
But Lauerman and others provided their input on the possibilities and how a public-private partnership could make them happen.
“Malls need to bring in an active experience as a component,” said Michael Burayidi, a professor of urban planning at Ball State University who has done research on shopping malls in the Midwest. “People would come for the experience and then shop.”
Burayidi said the mall’s close vicinity to Interstate 65, enabling it to draw more visitors, and the fact that it’s a larger, Class A mall, work in its
radius is above the national average, according to esri, a supplier of geographic information.
He said some of the malls that have survived have incorporated active experiences such as rock climbing walls, an aquatic center or an ice-skating rink.
The American Dream Mall in New Jersey has indoor skiing and snowboarding slopes while other malls have aquariums and theme parks, said the professor, whose research led to a paper that has been accepted for publication. The biggest, and most successful mall, Mall of America in Minnesota, has a Nickoledon Universe, Crayola Experience, black light mini golf and a Lego Store among its many entertainment offerings.
State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Merrillville, agreed that adding an entertainment venue at the mall would be a good addition.
“People get off at Route 30 and head over to Albanese (Confectionery) and the (Deep River) Waterpark now,” OIthoff said.
“You have a captive audience. They could stop at the mall and maybe go ice skating, play arcade games or go go-karting,” she said.
Hobart Councilman Josh Huddlestun, D-2nd, would like to see entertainment outside the big box, however.
Mayor Brian Snedecor and the City Council have been wanting to adopt a food and beverage tax with the goal of having an outdoor sports complex that would attract traveling teams from all over to the Silverstone property, located nearby on the north side of U.S. 30, off Mississippi Street.
Huddlestun envisions 16 softball/baseball fields and a dozen soccer fields at the complex.
He said the mall could be repurposed differently, perhaps with hotels on the upper floor, retail on the bottom and possibly a water feature included, such as waterslides.
He said parents of children on traveling sports teams have discretionary income and could spend some of it at restaurants and retailers near the complex.
Lauerman said new life for shopping centers and big box stores can take many forms, including residential, health care facilities and offices, boutique hotels, light manufacturing, last mile delivery for e-commerce, self-storage and entertainment.
“But the bigger issue remains how you capitalize on what remains of a center and create opportunity for existing stores and services to maintain and grow,” she said.
She said the end goal could be to create more foot traffic to support the center through e-commerce or production workers looking for lunch and shopping, create a destination that would draw visitors who need lodging as well, or fill a need for apartments or condos with the convenience of a livable and walkable footprint for services provided within the center.
Burayidi said health clinics, community parks where events could be held and residences can also be incorporated in malls.
Moving forward
While there are a lot of ideas floating around about the future of malls, those contacted said it’s important to find the right person willing to invest in the Hobart property, and to forge a private-public partnership of some type to help it come to fruition.
Burayidi said developer Simon Properties has been looking to buy malls with the goal of repurposing them, provided it can get a return on their investment.
He pointed out that in some municipalities, the mall has been the single largest taxpayer yet now sits virtually vacant.
“That’s why it’s important for the public sector to work handin-hand with the private sector,” he said.
Lauerman said that partnership might be more of an agreement to think outside the box, rather than a financial one.
For instance, she said the community could rezone portions of the center property for new uses or provide incentives.
In terms of financing, Olthoff said the state has established the Indiana Regional Cities Initiative, which helps communities work together to transform their region into a nationally recognized destination to live, work and play. The state would provide millions of dollars in a funding match for their development plans.
Huddlestun would like to see a different type of partnership between the city of Hobart and the CEO of one of the mall’s retailers, who has the perfect last name.
“I would love for the city to form a partnership with the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lauren Hobart. I can see the possibilities,” Huddlestun said.