Empty Mall Space Used For Homeless Shelter

Amazon is causing the collapse of the shopping mall, leaving many of their property values to lower. This is leaving people to come up with new creative uses for the space, including use as a homeless shelter.

Mall properties are selling at historically low prices, giving investors a chance to claim the property for lower prices. Many of these properties are being redeveloped for other purposes other than retail.

The former Macy’s store in the Virginia Landmark Mall of Alexandria is now a homeless shelter. This is giving more opportunity for housing options including apartments and living facilities.

The Macy’s in Alexandria is now the Carpenter’s Shelter, a non-profit group created a temporary housing center providing 60 beds, hot meals and showers for people with trouble finding affordable housing. So far the shelter is only in a select section of the old store, with two additional floors not being used. Most malls are shelter areas for storms, making an excellent and safe location for housing.

This mall was facing financial issues when most of the customers started frequenting another mall in the area that offered more popular brands. This forced the Landmark Mall to start selling off the property to maintain financial structure for the rest of the mall.

Plans for the mall renovation proved too pricey with proposals for expansion in the past that did not make it past the planning phase. The current owner of the mall plans to reconstruct the mall into an open-air shopping center that could take years possibly to start construction.

The homeless shelter in the mall may have to relocate if construction starts, but the homeless shelter is proving to be a successful use of the dead mall space. Check out the video above for more on the future of malls.