I know plenty of people who spend what appears to me (admittedly, a non-shopper) to be an inordinate amount of time shopping, particularly at the mall. It seems like they practically live there. But that would be silly, right? Because the King of Prussia mall is all commercial, not residential, right? Well, maybe, but maybe not for long. Even though our up-scale mall has been fairly well insulated from the well-documented slow death of brick and mortar establishments, it, too has begun to have some challenges filling some of the spaces. Department stores have been the hardest hit in this declining popularity of retail stores and the empty J.C. Penney building bears testament to this trend.
Simon Property Group, which owns the K.O.P. mall is considering a plan to turn the old department store space (17 acres) into a mixed use combination of office space, some shops and residential apartments. So you really might be able to live at the mall! Zoning variances would have to be approved and the plan is really more of an idea in its infancy, but it’s a fascinating concept. To be able to walk to the mall to pick up what you need without fighting traffic and looking for parking might appeal to many people. I, for one, will be keeping tabs on this proposed project to see if it actually might come to fruition.
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