Can Malls Triumph Over COVID-19?

Malls around the country have been struggling for a while, due to challenges from e-commerce and competition from mass-merchandise chains.

Meanwhile, several around the metro area, including Oak Park Mall, in Overland Park, and the Legends Outlets, in Kansas City, Kan., were closed for weeks due to concerns about COVID-19.

So, how will they survive going forward?

For the last few years, malls have dealt with traffic-loss challenges by adding restaurants and entertainment venues to their venues that were so-called “Amazon proof.” Now that reality has been hindered due to social-distancing measures.

It’s going to be a hard road for mall landlords, says a National Real Estate Investor report that details how retail bankruptcies and rent-reduction negotiations with impact mall REITs.