America’s oldest mall, once littered with shuttered shops is getting a glamorous $400M facelift featuring a luxury hotel, pickleball court and high-end stores like Gucci and Moncler

America’s oldest mall is undergoing a $400 million transformation to create a stunning shopping center of tomorrow, with luxury brands and top-notch amenities.

With its teal and flamingo-pink color scheme and high-tech air conditioning, the Southdale Center wowed shoppers when it opened in 1956 as the first climate-controlled indoor mall in the US.

Over the years, however, its former glory began to fade due to competition from rival malls elsewhere in the Minneapolis suburbs, store closures and reduced footfall.

But now mall giant Simon Property Group SPG is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the complex, attracting major brands and building luxury amenities.

New facilities on offer include a pickleball court, a Hilton Hotel and a host of world-class brands including Gucci, Rolex and Moncler.

Defunct department stores are making way for the likes of high-tech mini-golf operator Puttshack, reflecting the shift in the way Americans use the mall.

Research shows that while consumers spend less time in shopping centers, they are more likely to spend more money on valuable items Wall Street Journal reports.

It means lower footfall, which has only fallen further during the pandemic, has surpassed tenant sales levels in 2019 in prime shopping centres.

“The good shopping centers are flourishing,” Floris van Dijkum, director of investment company Compass Point Research & Trading, told the newspaper.

“If you have the capital to reinvest in your shopping centers, you keep them alive and relevant.”

For the 52,000-resident city of Edina where the mall is located, the post-pandemic shift to hybrid working has also boosted local retail, which Simon’s CEO said influenced the company’s decision to pursue the project to take on.

But in many parts of the 80-hectare complex the glamor is still pending as ongoing construction work continues.

Floors were ripped up and the retro color scheme was painted over to complement a fresh new layout.

At the time, however, the mall was considered the pinnacle of design and was built at a cost of $20 million to rival the high-vaulted, enclosed retail markets in Europe.

The main atrium had tables with umbrellas, like European outdoor plazas, a fish pond and a 20-foot birdcage.

The year after its opening, 20,000 people flocked downtown to watch a live game show hosted by Bob Barker.

“It was a place where you could really spend an afternoon: have lunch or meet friends,” Harmony Kaplan, who was a teenager when Southdale opened, told the Wall Street Journal. “That’s where you got your first job.”

‘I would cycle here. It was exciting, it was a really busy shopping center,” Mary Rattei, 76, added. “There’s not much going on in the mall now.”

However, Simon hopes that this will change. The complex has already been boosted by the replacement of a shuttered JCPenney with the luxury Life Time fitness center and the addition of a LuluLemon.

It’s hoped a pickleball court at a Life Time price of $259 per month will attract even more customers.

Life Time CEO Bahram Akradi believes that malls should offer more than just shopping options.

“You can really build a central center for commerce, for togetherness and for unity,” he said. “If we think of them as retail, that’s a mistake.”

But there will be plenty of opportunities for retail therapy, as Simon has signed leases with luxury brands Burberry, Gucci, Moncler, Max Mara and Coach, to name a few.

While many retailers are struggling to compete with online shopping, luxury brands have fared better in the store because their customers are more likely to want to see an expensive item in person before splashing out the money.

The declining fortunes of major retail chains such as Sears and Macy’s have caused problems at shopping complexes in recent years.

Last month, Macy’s unveiled plans to close 150 stores, nearly a third of its locations.

This places particular pressure on low-cost shopping centres, which often lack the capital to attract new tenants.

However, for Simon, the largest mall operator in the US with 83 closed properties, the focus is on investing in its most lucrative properties, where it plans to spend $800 million on up to six new projects this year.

Meanwhile, Southdale Center’s market value is now nearly $300 million, the city said.

David Simon, CEO of Simon Property Group, said he believes there will always be a place for convenient and well-maintained shopping centers.

“There are few products in the real estate industry that have such longevity and staying power,” he said. ‘Shopping centers are extremely resilient.’