From Columbus, Ohio to Mesa, Arizona, developments emerge from under enclosed shopping centers
By Jon Kamp and Scott Calvert | The Wall Street Journal
WORCESTER, Mass.—A hotel and apartment complex are rising on a street here that was buried by a shopping mall for four decades. A new office building also opened nearby, replacing a structure that failed to resuscitate this New England city’s core.
Standing on a reopened street, Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said the two-story mall ultimately hurt the city. “We don’t want these big, dead walls,” he said.
At a time when urban centers around the U.S. are enjoying a renaissance, some dead malls are a development opportunity. Cities are reclaiming lost streets and razing buildings that are now panned as poor fits for downtowns.
The downtown in New England’s second-largest city is enjoying a broader rebound from years of post-industrial era malaise. The population is growing, and apartments and restaurants have also cropped up in refurbished older buildings around the city core.
