A number of American communities have “zombie malls,” shopping centers that continue to exist even if communities wish they would disappear.

There are hundreds of zombie malls throughout the U.S. like the Berkshire
Mall, more dead than alive. The older, low-end ones have
lost at least half and, in some cases, more than 70% of their value since
the industry’s peak in late 2016, according to real-estate research firm Green
Street…

That’s when Namdar Realty and Mason like to swoop in. The New York-based
real-estate partners are among the most prolific purchasers of U.S. malls. They
make money by buying malls cheap and keeping them going, even as town officials
beg them to pull the plug.

Bare said the community would be better served if the Berkshire Mall was
turned into something more valuable. Ideally, a mixed-use property with housing
and medical offices or educational space, and maybe some retail and
restaurants…

Malls typically sit on large parcels of prime real estate—which often
include nearby buildings such as restaurants as well as large parking lots—that
can be subdivided and sold in parts, sometimes at a value exceeding the
purchase price of the mall. The partners keep the malls open, but cut costs by
appealing their property-tax bills and reducing expenses such as staffing and
maintenance. 

All the while, they continue to collect rent from the mall’s remaining
retailers. When national retailers move out, Namdar Realty and Mason try to
replace them with nontraditional tenants such as call centers, local small
businesses, doctors’ offices and bounce-house venues.

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Here are some of the reasons communities do not like malls surviving in this
state:

-They are not generating the kinds of tax revenues they did as a thriving
mall.

-The land could be generating more revenue if used in different ways.
Communities want to replace the tax revenues of the malls with other revenues.
(And this is a reason housing might not be too appealing to some leaders.)

-A mall in bad repair and/or is partly to mostly empty is an eyesore.
Gleaming and busy malls are a source of pride; struggling or dying malls are
the opposite.

-Outside mall owners may not always be perceived as having the best
interests of the community in mind. Imagine how locals might interpret their
actions: someone is trying to profit off our struggles. They are impeding our
progress just to make money for outsiders.

-Even if malls can be demolished or repurposed, it can be a hard path to
putting new and worthwhile in its place. These outsiders are slowing the
process or making it impossible to move on.

Even zombie malls will meet their fate eventually, either as unprofitable
ventures that are sold and redone or as places that continue to generate
profits. And if they can keep making money, are they really zombies?