Back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, malls were the place to be. Teens would gather there on weekends, twenty-somethings would go there for a date night, and families with young kids would turn out to see Santa in the winter. But beginning in the 2000s, these once-popular gathering places saw a slow decline brought about by the rise of online shopping, tighter budgets, and changing consumer preferences. Now, videos and photos of abandoned malls have become a popular genre online, speaking to the intrigue of liminal spaces.
But some people believe that the mall can thrive again — if it’s rethought and revitalized. The newly revamped malls of the 2020s are not the malls of yesteryear. Instead of heavily relying on big-box stores, they feature luxury retailers and non-retail attractions like gyms, entertainment venues, and restaurants. And they’re bringing in new, younger customers. “The first digitally native generation is resurrecting an old-fashioned American pastime: Shopping at the mall,” wrote the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
One such revitalization is planned at a historic mall site in Omaha, Nebraska. Crossroads Mall opened in 1960, making it the oldest mall in the state. It was demolished beginning in 2020, but there are plans in the works to redevelop it into a new type of shopping center more aligned with modern tastes, featuring shops, eats, and entertainment.
Future plans for Crossroads Mall
After previous developers fell through, management and development company Woodbury Corporation and partner WRK Real Estate took over the former Crossroads Mall site with a plan for a redevelopment now called simply The Crossroads. The company plans to add restaurants, retail, housing, offices, and a central plaza. When the Woodbury deal was announced in late 2024, the company’s lawyer told Nebraska Examiner that the first phase of redevelopment should be completed in two to three years, with the entire redevelopment completed by 2032…