By Wick Zimmerman, CEO of Outside the Lines Inc.
In the Northeast’s evolving commercial real estate landscape, mall owners and operators are navigating now-familiar headwinds: changing consumer behaviors, declining legacy retail brands and the sustained presence of e-commerce .
Yet amid these pressures, a reinvention is underway. Malls are shedding their images as static retail venues and transforming into immersive, tech-enabled destinations — and it’s not traditional retail driving the charge. It’s Gen Z, a digitally native, experience-driven cohort that’s redefining what mall real estate can and should be.
This shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity for regional retail stakeholders. The challenge? Retrofitting aging assets to meet evolving demands. The opportunity? Creating diversified, high-traffic destinations that outperform their square footages in terms of both revenue and relevance.
From Shopping Centers to Engagement Anchors
Once emblematic of suburban retail, malls across the Northeast — from Long Island to greater Boston — are increasingly being reimagined as hybridized spaces that combine shopping, entertainment and community programming.
In densely populated, high-barrier markets, where new development is constrained, adaptive reuse initiatives are driving the charge. Class B and C malls, in particular, are being repositioned with new anchors — not department stores, but an experiential concepts.
At the core of this prevailing trend is Gen Z’s spending philosophy. Unlike previous generations, this group places higher value on experience than on material acquisition. As such, mall and shopping center operators are pivoting toward a lifestyle model — integrating not only shopping and dining, but also social and sensory-driven programming.
Technology as a Tenant: AI’s Role in the Experience Economy
To meet the expectations of the Gen Z consumer, many mall redevelopments now center on technology. Artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and data-enabled personalization aren’t just enhancements — they’re table stakes for attracting the digital generation.
AI-powered directories, virtual assistants and real-time shopper analytics are already being deployed in forward-thinking centers to optimize layout, suggest offerings and even orchestrate ambient experiences.
For example, at Mountain View Village in Riverton, Utah — a retail, dining, and entertainment development, as well as a case study with regional and national implications — a fountain powered with our Outside The Lines’ (OTL) AI technology, Aquarius Interactive, responds to human movement without wires or devices, turning a public space into a magical interactive attraction. The result? Greater dwell time, repeat visitation and non-retail revenue generation.
In the Northeast, where square footage is typically at a premium, such innovations can maximize the utility and draw of underperforming common areas or anchor voids. The potential ROI (return on investment) isn’t just measured in leases signed, but in minutes spent and engagement tracked.
Design for Interaction: Gen Z as a Blueprint
Successful malls today must serve as hotbeds of social infrastructure — venues where people gather, interact and share experiences. In practice, this means reconfiguring floor plans for digital art installations, VR lounges and e-sports arenas, rather than another apparel outlet.
South Coast Plaza in California offers another instructive benchmark. There, partnerships with tech-forward brands have enabled shoppers to try on clothes in AR, engage with digital art and socialize in VR gaming zones — all experiences that other mall owners can translate into cold-weather-friendly indoor formats. Properties across Westchester, Northern New Jersey and suburban Philadelphia are already testing similar integrations in pilot phases.
Repositioning Retail: Amenitized Adaptation
The trend isn’t just about adding tech — it’s about rethinking how mall space is programmed. Legacy big-box anchors are being converted to multi-use formats that blend residential, entertainment, wellness and digital experience.
Simon’s recently reimagined Northshore Mall in Peabody, Massachusetts, is now a mixed-use development that features a host of new technology-enhanced entertainment, from immersive gaming to golf simulation, as well as a bowling and arcade tenant and a new dining pavilion. A new hotel is already under construction on the property as well.
At another Simon property, Fashion Valley in San Diego, the OTL team redesigned and refurbished two architectural fountains as part of a multimillion-dollar reimagining of the mall. A former J.C. Penney space is being transformed into high-end residences, while the mall itself is being refitted as a luxury, mixed-use destination.
Northeastern markets — where transit-oriented development and live-work-play models are already in demand — are ripe for this kind of conversion. Infill locations with solid demographic density can support repositioned malls that combine high-tech amenities with experiential placemaking and lifestyle tenancies.
Outlook: Investing in Immersion
The long-term value of mall real estate in the Northeast will increasingly depend on a property’s ability to shift from transactional to experiential. Stakeholders who integrate smart technology and curate immersive, socially driven amenities will lead in attracting both tenants and traffic.
For developers, investors and leasing teams, the path forward isn’t to resist the evolution — it’s to fund and facilitate it. The malls of tomorrow are no longer just about shopping. They’re about staying, sharing and engaging — and that’s where liquidity in retail is beginning to flow.
J. Wickham Zimmerman is the CEO of Outside the Lines, Inc., a design-build themed construction company that specializes in creating original rockwork, water features and themed environments for retail entertainment, hospitality, gaming and golf properties around the globe.