In the Baltimore exurb of Aberdeen, Maryland, a brand-new strip mall sits on a corner at a moderately busy intersection, awaiting a tenant.Aberdeen XChange is not bad looking, as strip malls go. It aligns with contemporary architectural standards for this type of thing: its chief cladding materials consist of tan fake stucco (probably EIFS) and
In this era of progressive retail collapse, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to conceive of any viable long-term solution for the numerous, variegated, embattled storefronts across this nation of largely unregulated markets. It’s already bad throughout the suburbs, where strip malls, big boxes, and even formerly mighty regional malls are under such strain from their burgeoning
Over the holidays I briefly visited my hometown of Indianapolis, and even more briefly made a stop to the Greenwood Park Mall, which was “my mall” growing up and a frequent subject of this blog in earlier years. Back then, I singled this mall out for its resilience, as other malls (in Indianapolis and across
My latest came out just in time for Black Friday, on Manhattan Institute’s City Journal: a world without malls. It’s my most recent rumination on the bleak future of retail in 2018–an industry that looks increasingly likely experience a collapse with no other precedent than era when the suburban shopping mall replaced the American town center as the place
I’ve spoken numerous times about the dire state of retail, and I’m hardly alone. National urban publications have covered it, obsessing in recent months how even the Borough of Manhattan, America’s most densely populated urban settlement, is witnessing increasingly yawning gaps between its occupied storefronts on formerly bustling streets. And it’s not like the island
It may seem a little excessive to devote a second article to a town as obscure Bowman, North Dakota, but since it’s one of only two incorporated municipalities I’ve visited in the state, it’s only natural I was impelled to look a bit more closely than I otherwise might. The last time it brought me
Amidst the bleak outlook of American retail, the restaurant and hospitality industry has fared pretty well. Sure, in many respects, restaurants are a subcategory within retail, but compared to a clothing boutique or a bookstore, the business model uses different benchmarks for success, a widely different employment structure, and a different means of handling its
This post serves more as a prelude to a forthcoming, lengthier rumination on retail conditions in Columbia Heights, a Washington DC neighborhood I have explored multiple times in the past.It is among the oldest “suburbs” platted outside of the original l’Enfant plan for the capital region. I apply quotes to the word “suburb” because, though it
Barracks Row, a small but generally prosperous commercial corridor in the southeastern Washington DC neighborhood of Capitol Hill, hosted a location of the regional chain Capital Teas—at least until last year. Just weeks after I made a sizable purchase at the location, at a time when I had no idea that it was struggling, the
In the loosest sense, the major airlines of America have responded to market shifts in much the same way as department stores. Over the last quarter century, both industries have experienced one consolidation after another. Department stores were considerably more abundant; with rare exceptions (Sears and J.C. Penney come to mind), most of the retailers
In the Baltimore exurb of Aberdeen, Maryland, a brand-new strip mall sits on a corner at a moderately busy intersection, awaiting a tenant.Aberdeen XChange is not bad looking, as strip malls go. It
In this era of progressive retail collapse, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to conceive of any viable long-term solution for the numerous, variegated, embattled storefronts across this nation of largely unregulated markets. It’s already
Over the holidays I briefly visited my hometown of Indianapolis, and even more briefly made a stop to the Greenwood Park Mall, which was “my mall” growing up and a frequent subject of
My latest came out just in time for Black Friday, on Manhattan Institute’s City Journal: a world without malls. It’s my most recent rumination on the bleak future of retail in 2018–an industry that
I’ve spoken numerous times about the dire state of retail, and I’m hardly alone. National urban publications have covered it, obsessing in recent months how even the Borough of Manhattan, America’s most densely
It may seem a little excessive to devote a second article to a town as obscure Bowman, North Dakota, but since it’s one of only two incorporated municipalities I’ve visited in the state,
Amidst the bleak outlook of American retail, the restaurant and hospitality industry has fared pretty well. Sure, in many respects, restaurants are a subcategory within retail, but compared to a clothing boutique or
This post serves more as a prelude to a forthcoming, lengthier rumination on retail conditions in Columbia Heights, a Washington DC neighborhood I have explored multiple times in the past.It is among the oldest
Barracks Row, a small but generally prosperous commercial corridor in the southeastern Washington DC neighborhood of Capitol Hill, hosted a location of the regional chain Capital Teas—at least until last year. Just weeks
In the loosest sense, the major airlines of America have responded to market shifts in much the same way as department stores. Over the last quarter century, both industries have experienced one consolidation