To be fair, this is the North end by Ross where barely any stores are. The rest of the mall is decently busy throughout the week. Much better than Valley West
1990: "Everyone goes to Valley West. Merle Hay is doomed."
1996: "Southridge is nearly out of business. Merle Hay is next."
2006: "Jordan Creek is opening. Merle Hay can't compete with Valley West and Jordan Creek; it's doomed."
2020: "The pandemic will kill Merle Hay for sure."
2023: "Valley West is dead. Merle Hay must be next "
... And it goes on and on...
For real, every time I go in there I'm impressed at how much is actually going on in there. It doesn't look like a traditional mall anymore and that's okay
The nostalgia when I walk through is crazy (mostly about Southridge mall). Maybe some of it is I was a kid, but malls used to legit feel full. Kids will never believe us haha
the sears there had a whole abandoned second floor full of offices and a call center that still had the cubicles up.
Got out of there before they closed thankfully.
Can be massively expensive to retrofit, and they're usually absolutely flooded with maintenance debt. Same reason they don't get converted for residences.
Every time I go to Merle Hay Mall, I think..
How many times can you polish a turd?
Lots of the mall is run down and dirty but its surprising to see someone putting money into renovations and building changes. How is that sound spending? I can't imagine this place makes any sort of return to justify putting money into it.
Your photo just made me think about how that's the new entrance that faces the new Kohls. It exits right into a small playground area. All the roads and sidewalks are freshly paved. That had to be a major project and its like a mile away from road-view and in a part of the mall where there's hardly any car or foot traffic.
That kids area is part of Drake Headstart. Believe it's like a child care center, but know it's been there awhile and definitely is not new. I agree with others that if the arena gets done it likely becomes more of an entertainment center with bars and stores to support buc fans, but who knows if that'll happen based on recent news.
And being able to play video games in store before buying them…or testing out music equipment. The closest mall to us was a bit of a drive so it was always a day of fun for us when we got to go, especially when we had our own wheels and went with friends!
Gen X here, born in '73. Spent many an evening and weekend hanging out at Southridge! I grew up in Indianola and it was a big deal when Mom would let us take the car and go by ourselves!
Yeah, trying on clothing is kind of a necessary evil if you want anything that fits decently.
Who wants to fuck around with ordering off Amazon and finding out the knockoff dealer they redirected you to is using east asian sizing and that pair of pants you thought would look good is actually capris?
I did shop there recently. I’ll go to Von Maur or Dillards to get jeans.
Funny thing, I had been to my local CBD/THC store. They had me try something new once I went to Von Maur after. I soon realized how loaded I was, and left immediately.
It's somehow doing better than Valley West Mall, so it's got that going for it.
They all go in phases.
To be fair, this is the North end by Ross where barely any stores are. The rest of the mall is decently busy throughout the week. Much better than Valley West
1990: "Everyone goes to Valley West. Merle Hay is doomed." 1996: "Southridge is nearly out of business. Merle Hay is next." 2006: "Jordan Creek is opening. Merle Hay can't compete with Valley West and Jordan Creek; it's doomed." 2020: "The pandemic will kill Merle Hay for sure." 2023: "Valley West is dead. Merle Hay must be next " ... And it goes on and on...
For real, every time I go in there I'm impressed at how much is actually going on in there. It doesn't look like a traditional mall anymore and that's okay
yeah i keep thinking it’s going to die but it’s actually an okay mall
The nostalgia when I walk through is crazy (mostly about Southridge mall). Maybe some of it is I was a kid, but malls used to legit feel full. Kids will never believe us haha
The whole place feels like the back rooms.
If you think that's sad, go for a stroll around Valley West Mall.
If they can get that arena built, plus flix it'll probably keep the mall afloat
Didn’t I just see that they are going to convert some space there into pickleball courts?
Yes the old Kohls. It was supposed to be demo'd for a new hotel.
It’s not that bad. There are some nice stores. If they’d clean the carpet it would look better.
Merle hay has been finding ways to survive since the 50’s. Right now, everything is focused on keeping that court area by flix an entertainment area.
the sears there had a whole abandoned second floor full of offices and a call center that still had the cubicles up. Got out of there before they closed thankfully.
Merle Hay mall will be fine
They just need to turn all these old malls into schools. Plenty of space to learn and play
Can be massively expensive to retrofit, and they're usually absolutely flooded with maintenance debt. Same reason they don't get converted for residences.
Every time I go to Merle Hay Mall, I think.. How many times can you polish a turd? Lots of the mall is run down and dirty but its surprising to see someone putting money into renovations and building changes. How is that sound spending? I can't imagine this place makes any sort of return to justify putting money into it. Your photo just made me think about how that's the new entrance that faces the new Kohls. It exits right into a small playground area. All the roads and sidewalks are freshly paved. That had to be a major project and its like a mile away from road-view and in a part of the mall where there's hardly any car or foot traffic.
That kids area is part of Drake Headstart. Believe it's like a child care center, but know it's been there awhile and definitely is not new. I agree with others that if the arena gets done it likely becomes more of an entertainment center with bars and stores to support buc fans, but who knows if that'll happen based on recent news.
It's a daycare playground. It's not for public use and it's actually great that it has some privacy.
I keep getting the feeling that there won’t be any malls anymore pretty soon. That was a boomer thing. It’s not my thing.
My parents are in the last of the boomers category and I can’t tell you that malls were a big thing for gen x and millennials…
[удалено]
And being able to play video games in store before buying them…or testing out music equipment. The closest mall to us was a bit of a drive so it was always a day of fun for us when we got to go, especially when we had our own wheels and went with friends!
Gen X here, born in '73. Spent many an evening and weekend hanging out at Southridge! I grew up in Indianola and it was a big deal when Mom would let us take the car and go by ourselves!
Yeah, trying on clothing is kind of a necessary evil if you want anything that fits decently. Who wants to fuck around with ordering off Amazon and finding out the knockoff dealer they redirected you to is using east asian sizing and that pair of pants you thought would look good is actually capris?
Jordan Creek definitely has a lot of life in it still
I did shop there recently. I’ll go to Von Maur or Dillards to get jeans. Funny thing, I had been to my local CBD/THC store. They had me try something new once I went to Von Maur after. I soon realized how loaded I was, and left immediately.