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<br />Mall Wonder
<br />It's huge, it's profitable, it's surprisingly
<br />accessible. Will Minnesota's Mall of
<br />America be the last of its kind?
<br />By Suzanne Sutro Rhees,-AICP
<br />
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<br />AS the Minnesota Real Estate Journal
<br />put it last year, if shopping were a
<br />religion, the Mall of America in Bloomington,
<br />Minnesota, would be its temple. Because
<br />of its size-it's the largest enclosed shop-
<br />ping center in the U.S.-and the fact that
<br />its opening, in August 1992, took place in
<br />the middle of a recession, the Mall, of
<br />America has gotten the kind of press cov-
<br />erage that accompanies only Really Big
<br />Events, like presidential elections.
<br />The mall is not -the world's largest.
<br />That distinction belongs to its predeces-
<br />sor and role model, the West Edmonton
<br />Mall in Alberta. But, 'with a total floor
<br />area of 4.2 million square feet, it is very
<br />big-about five times the size of Red Square, -- - --
<br />according to one typical statistic. Its 2.5
<br />million square feet of retail space are
<br />occupied by four anchor department stores,
<br />seven "junior" department stores, 350 spe-
<br />cialtyshops, and enough small retail kiosks
<br />and stands to keep millions of mall rats
<br />occupied indefinitely. ,
<br />The huge structure also includes a clus-
<br />ter of nightclubs, restaurants, bars, and
<br />theaters, a LEGO Imagination Center,
<br />and an 18-hole miniature golf course. In
<br />the center of the giant square formed by
<br />the anchor stores-Nordstrom, Macy's,
<br />Bloomingdale's, and Sears-is a seven-
<br />acre amusement park, Knott's Camp
<br />Snoopy. The mall is unusual in that it
<br />mixes upscale, off-price, and specialty
<br />retailers in one locale: both Bloomingdale's
<br />and Filene's Basement. s
<br />The megamall, as it is popularly known, F
<br />has generated its own mega-statistics, from
<br />the number of hot dogs consumed in the
<br />opening week (39,000) to the number of
<br />people employed there (over 11,000 at
<br />last count), to the cost of construction
<br />($825 million in private and public funds,
<br />according to Melvin Simon & Associates,
<br />the lead developer).
<br />First impressions
<br />Disorientation is a common symptom of
<br />"mal de mall," but the Mall of America is
<br />surprisingly easy. to find and navigate:
<br />Flyover ramps from two nearby freeways
<br />lead directly into the mall's loop road.
<br />Two seven-level parking structures and'
<br />two surface lots provide 12,750 parking
<br />spaces-which fill up fast during peak
<br />periods,. Overflow is shunted to the park-
<br />ing lots of the now-vacant Met Center
<br />hockey stadium. Public buses-the mall
<br />is served by 13 regional bus routes-and
<br />hotel and airport shuttles drop off passen-
<br />gers in a terminal beneath one of the
<br />parking structures.
<br />The design, not particularly innovative
<br />but well thought out; is the product of
<br />several firms, including the Jerde Partner-
<br />ship, the Los Angeles architecture and plan-
<br />ning firm known for its work on Horton
<br />Plaza in downtown San Diego. To make
<br />the building appear less massive, the de-
<br />signers used brick on the ground floor (a
<br />concession to fire safety requirements) while
<br />sheathing the upper floors with astucco-
<br />like material, striped in muted tones of
<br />beige and terra cotta. The color scheme is
<br />repeated in the highway ramps that serve
<br />the mall.:- -
<br />Inside, the hollow square layout makes
<br />it easy for visitors to find their way. The
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