More on Dead Malls

Hello

Speaking of dead malls we have one in Middle Georgia. Houston Mall in Warner Robins (off Watson Boulevard across from Suntrust) was built in 1972. On the north end was Grant's and Belk's anchored the west end. Sears was on the Watson Boulevard side. In 1994 its anchors left it a nearly empty hulk. Manager Laverne Norris and the owners struggle to keep it alive.
I swung by Houston Mall two days ago. The facility is trying to fill up empty holes but I do not see this as meaningful. I saw a doctor's office, an outpatient annex for the hospital up the road, a Primerica office, a used office furniture dealer, a beauty supply place, a furniture store, a softlines/home decor outlet, and a billing office for the hospital mentioned above. I whirled around back and saw the old Belk's entrance which is the front door for the Air Force Reserve Band's offices.

Last year I saw an Asian-made junk store and an art gallery. At the old Grant's end was a clothing store whose owner is too stubborn to give up. Where the bookstore was at the north court is Municipal Court.

The Telegraph article from July has management gloating at its 85% occupancy. Sad to say but these will not stay for long. The mall's owner is unable to grasp one rule of marketing; have a goal for what you want for your business. He seems to want to fill space with whatever comes his way.

The best that the Houston Mall can hope for is to become an office mall or a government center. Forget about being a power center near a slum area. I would advise ripping down the center section and leaving the old Grant's and the adjacent strips as well as the old Sears building. There is no reason to air-condition five or six people walking around in in thousands of square feet of space in the common area. A patched parking lot looks horrible as does an old road sign that is more of a tombstone.

Belk's is talking with the owners of the Bass Road power center and Dillard's has all but committed itself as an anchor. This will suck Macon Mall dry if both choose to move away. It would make sense as I have heard there is lower occupancy of the mall and people tell each other not to visit MM at night. The ghetto has surrounded almost all of the mall.

More on this and other malls in days to come.