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The Jaxson: Shopping Malls Must Adapt Or Fail

empty mall hallway
Ennis Davis
/
The Jaxson
The Palatka Mall, now home to a handful of government offices and a few stores, has largely empty corridors.

More than one-third of the shopping malls across the country could close within the next year. Many mall owners will be forced to adapt their properties for new uses or fail.

In this Jaxson on WJCT segment, The Jaxson’s Ennis Davis tells WJCT News Director Jessica Palombo about some adaptive reuse trends that are breathing new life into the once-popular shopping destinations, including:

  • Education
  • Apartments
  • Dining and Entertainment

Will Regency Square become a mixed-use development where people can live, eat and go to the dentist all in the same place? Will another Arlington shopping center become a destination once again thanks to a shipping container food hall?
Visit The Jaxson for photos of converted malls, including Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Deerwood Center.

Jessica Palombo supervises local news gathering and production, podcasts and web editorial content for WJCT News, ADAPT and Jacksonville Today. She is an award-winning writer and journalist with bylines including NPR, Experience Magazine, and The Gainesville Sun. She has a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and is an alumna of the University of Florida. A nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville, she considers herself lucky to be raising her own children in her hometown. Follow Jessica Palombo on Twitter: @JaxJessicaP