By Galina Tachieva, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company

Sprawl is an outdated and dysfunctional form of development. Its numerous and gargantuan problems have been pointed out over the last few decades, but the recent economic and real estate calamities – with office parks, shopping centers, and entire subdivisions failing daily – have shown everyone the urgent need to address these problems. The responsible and sustainable way to deal with sprawl is neither to abandon it nor to continue building in the same pattern, but to reuse and reorganize as much of it as possible into complete, livable, robust communities. The Sprawl Repair Manual offers a comprehensive method to do this. Based on knowledge gained from built projects, it is a practical guide that illustrates how to repair the full range of suburban development types. It demonstrates a step-by-step process for the creation of more sustainable human settlements out of our wasteful sprawling landscape. This is a framework for designing the interventions, incorporating them into the regulatory system, and implementing them with permitting strategies and financial incentives.

Below is an edited excerpt from the Sprawl Repair Manual that demonstrates the transformations of one of the most typical and promising contenders for sprawl repair, the shopping mall. (Analysis of the region and the site’s immediate context, as well as urban design, zoning and implementation techniques, are explained in more detail in the book). Because of their location, parcel size, ownership structure, and opportunities for transit and mixed uses, malls have great potential to be transformed into transit-ready urban cores, commonly referred to as town centers.

Malls are usually located at major arterial intersections, along the paths of growth, in the vicinity of numerous residential subdivisions. This makes them ideal as centers along an integrated regional bus rapid transit network, light rail line, or other mode of public transportation. The overabundant retail space in malls can be rebalanced or replaced by complementary uses such as offices, residences, hotels, and civic or institutional services. Because of these advantages, malls have been the most frequent targets for sprawl repair. Examples include Mizner Park in Boca Raton, Florida; Paseo Colorado in Pasadena, California; and Belmar in Lakewood, Colorado, among others.

To reach the full potential of the repair of a mall, it is necessary to understand its regional context – its location and its relationship to the other centers in the region. As very large structures and agglomerations of retail use, malls have the capacity to influence their surroundings – if a mall is flourishing, the surrounding strip shopping, fast food restaurants, banks, and entertainment venues also thrive. Conversely, if a mall starts to decline, it can take businesses in the region down with it. But not all malls are alike. For example, a mall embedded in existing suburban residential fabric may be repaired more swiftly into a town center than a mall located on the exurban fringes, where it is entirely dependent on the prospect of future growth.

To make the critical distinctions between location and type, a site analysis must be performed, and from that the nature and feasibility of the repair can be determined. When the mall is still successful, the repair should be forward-looking – visionary and proactive in character – and the process of the retrofit started while the mall is still economically vital. When the shopping mall has already lost its economic momentum, the retrofit becomes post-factum or retroactive.

A mall can be repaired through a series of interventions executed as one major redevelopment or in phases implemented over the course of decades. If done in phases, the main structure of the mall can be preserved and embedded in fabric, and then pieces can be disassembled step-by-step, keeping only the anchors, and creating a main street. The final stage may include the full demolition of the mall if the remaining structures become obsolete. These are separate strategies that can be employed sequentially, as phases, or partially, depending on the circumstances.

The introduction of mixed uses and the reconnection of thoroughfares into urban blocks are logical and important steps in the transformation. However, the most critical intervention will be the rationalization of parking and the addition of parking garages, because that will facilitate the high density and mixed uses necessary for a town center.

The incentives for repairing malls need to be strong, as the financial commitments of the private sector required for such redevelopments are very high. When dead or dying malls are redeveloped and intensified as complete town centers, with residential and office components to supplement the retail, transit between these intensified nodes becomes viable. Just as the federal government subsidizes the Interstate Highway system that advances sprawl, federal, state and local governments should support the creation of a network of repaired commercial nodes to support regional transit.

The incentives and implementation techniques for the repair of malls may include a range of the following: permitting by right, which requires state enabling legislation; exemption from state and federal assessments; state and federal funding for transit and parking structures; Transfer of Development Rights and Purchase of Development Rights mechanisms to increase density; Tax Increment Financing; Business Improvement Districts; and others.

The deficiencies of the mall are similar to the other commercial sprawl elements, but some of them are more extreme: the footprint is excessively large for a single-use building, pedestrian circulation is hampered by the vast areas of underutilized surface parking, and the only well-defined public space is inside the mall.

However, these deficiencies also present opportunities for the repair of the mall. For instance, the large parking lots can easily accommodate a new urban fabric as well as a range of public spaces, including urban gardens for local food production.

Transformation into a Town Center

There are three strategies for the repair of a mall, each with different degrees of intervention. The existing-context map (figure 1) shows the mall and its suburban surroundings, which also have potential for a larger-scale intervention. All three strategies engage the vicinity in a unified design of a town center, connecting to the adjacent thoroughfares (figure 2). An option for the design is a stormwater-management canal parallel to the loop road around the mall. This canal is not only a utilitarian device for sustainably handling runoff, but also a civic amenity for the community.

In the first strategy, the main structure of the mall is preserved and embedded in new fabric (figures 3,4). The structure is renovated and the roof is converted into a garden. This option is the most conservative, assuming that the mall will survive as a mega structure, though its function may change. The mall building, or portions of it, can be transformed into civic (college campus, daycare facilities, community center, senior amenities, museum, etc.) or office use.

The second strategy preserves only the anchors and shows the evolution of the mall into a main street (figures 5,6). Multiple streets forming the new fabric feed the main street. The anchors may retain retail use or become civic destinations. Senior centers serving the surrounding residential enclaves may be accommodated, with courtyards carved out of the footprints.

The third, more polemic, strategy is a devolution of the mall into an agricultural village. (figures 7,8) The assumption is that the surrounding region has lost population and the mall is transformed into a rural settlement where gardens replace parking lots. For comparison, the plaza, in the place of the former food court, has the dimensions of Piazza Del Campo in Sienna, Italy.

Environmental elements are incorporated into the existing mall buildings and the new infill infrastructure. The new buildings provide for natural ventilation and day-lighting. Passive solar systems and gardens are introduced on existing and new roofs (figure 9). The canal, which is a feature of all three repair strategies, becomes an attractive amenity while also providing stormwater retention and water for irrigation (figure 10). The civic green can be used as a community garden (figure 11).

 

Implementation Protocol

The sprawl repair method also includes a protocol to assist developers with its implementation. The protocol addresses the typical issues developers encounter on such projects, and lists practical steps for their organization and execution.  

1.            Analyze the mall within its regional context, and according to the Sprawl Repair Assessment Tool and Void Analysis. If there is potential for successful repair, proceed to the next step.

2.            Analyze the site feasibility.

3.            Assess the leasing structure of the mall – identify anchors (department stores), junior anchors and aggregated national credit tenants (The Limited, The GAP, or companies that control 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of combined stores in malls or power centers), individual national credit tenants (national chains with a store or two in a given mall or power center), and local mom-and-pop tenants (typically pay high rents and require more management attention from the property owner). Identify the co-tenancy clauses typically in place for the national credit tenants (they can leave or not pay rent if any of the anchors leave). 

4.            Identify the type of mall repair and phasing. There are several variations of sprawl repair for malls:

•            Incorporation of the existing buildings while the mall is still prosperous. This is a proactive repair, anticipating the decline of the mall and the need for transit-oriented, mixed-use town centers.

•            Partial incorporation of existing structures, keeping some of the anchors and/or existing parking garages. This approach is appropriate when the mall is in a process of deterioration, but has not yet closed. A main street can be delineated where the central spine of the mall was before.

•            Full replacement of the mall, or retroactive repair. This is a strategy to use when the mall has failed, the existing buildings have deteriorated beyond repair, and the parcel should be fully redeveloped.

•            Devolution. If the area loses population for socio-economic reasons, a full or partial reversion to agricultural land is possible, in the form of individual and community parcels. Some of the infrastructure is utilized for streets and plazas. The mall is replaced with small-scale buildings that form an agricultural village.

5.            Reach out to the appropriate regional entity (a council or the county) in the area. Formulate a regional strategy for the repair of the shopping mall, focusing on its potential for transformation into a town center. Transit should be provided between the new town center and other nodes, connecting them to other regional destinations. Public support and potential investment will be more easily obtained if the developer can demonstrate that the project has regional significance and can contribute to long-term sustainability.

6.            Initiate and facilitate the adoption of a new form-based code that will legalize the transformation of the mall into a town center. This can be done through a comprehensive rezoning ordinance that replaces the existing municipal code and allows repair of shopping malls, or through an overlay district of the mall parcel.

7.            Explore public incentives for infrastructure improvements along adjoining thoroughfares and within the shopping mall.

8.            Select a strategy for partial or complete acquisition of the shopping mall. Secure contracts and/or options to purchase (with extendable contract limits). During due diligence, start discussions with county government and key decision makers about the feasibility of the project. If the feedback is positive, proceed to the next step.

9.            Prepare a tenant-mix strategy that optimizes national, regional, and local retailers.

10.            Create a strategy to manage the main street. Organize a single entity to coordinate tenants and property owners to ensure proper operation, balance, and maintenance of shopfronts, as well as simplicity and economy of the streetscape.

11.            Introduce a marketing program designed to emphasize the new town center’s “sense of place.”

12.            Analyze the jurisdiction of the main thoroughfares adjacent to the shopping mall, and if they are under the state DOT, work to have them relinquished to the local municipality if possible. State thoroughfare standards are more challenging to modify to create pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented environments. Local jurisdictions are able to work directly with communities affected by sprawl.

13.            Explore the possibility of locating civic institutions within the mall (if the building is reused) or within the new fabric to serve as a catalyst for placemaking and provide community identity. A post office, a library, a market, or a religious building can serve this role. Similarly, when large portions of the mall are repurposed, college satellite campuses, senior facilities, meeting halls, and theaters can also become strong anchors for the redevelopment.

14.            Start preparations for a public process and a possible collaborative design and planning session (charrette). Engage the regional government as well as adjacent subdivisions and their associations, the local business community, chamber of commerce, school board, and not-for-profit organizations.

15.            Complete a public charrette, preferably at the project site. Engage decision makers and stakeholders to explore various scenarios and phasing options. Results must be based on consensus.

16.            Start the entitlement process for the project. By this time the new town center should be permitted under a new ordinance. 

17.            Start construction.