“We’ve all learned how to merge work and life in a way that we hadn’t before,” said Amy Nelson, president of SaksWorks, Hudson Bay Company’s new co-workspace company. “Now, we pop out of our office and go down to the garage for a run on the treadmill. And we no longer go to 15 different places to get things done. We want that for the next phase.” SaksWorks will launch in five locations, including NYC’s Brookfield Place shopping center, in September.

To seamlessly fit into consumers’ new, ultra-convenient lifestyles — where everything is a few clicks or a short walk away — malls’ transformation into one-and-done destinations is being revisioned and accelerated. In addition to the gyms and array of restaurants they started to welcome pre-2020, they’re increasingly offering workplaces and even residences. At the same time, they’re expanding their retail offerings to include grocery and drugstores. In short, they’re taking the suburban shopping center and making it immersive. Providing efficiency is the point, but — an added perk — they’re also simplifying the new shopping process. One stop means less door touching, sanitizing and fussing with a mask.

“We’re definitely entertaining more co-working spaces at our properties,” said Carina Donoso, senior director of retail experience and incubation at WS Properties, owner of shopping centers including Boston Seaport and Tampa’s Hyde Park Village. “We’re also making sure that our food and beverage businesses have ample seating, because people who are working from home may want to relocate for an afternoon to a cafe.”

Industrious, an 8-year-old company offering 100-plus co-working spaces around the U.S., kicked off 2021 with a “work from mall” focus, said co-founder and CEO Jamie Hodari. It began testing the concept of inserting its locations in malls in 2013, and has since opened 200,000-square-feet of office space in shopping centers across the country. Its latest is in the One Colorado Shopping District in Pasadena, opened in July. According to Hodari, the hybrid work model of people WFH part-time amplified demand for a workplace that’s “integrated into a broader set of amenities and experiences, rather than high up in a tower.”

Currently, Industrious’ Scottsdale Fashion Square location is nearly at capacity. Plus, its Walnut Creek occupancy has more than doubled since the first quarter, and its Short Hills Mall location in New Jersey is among its most-used locations, Hodari said. “We were a little skittish, not knowing whether a Fortune 500 company would feel comfortable holding meetings in a mall,” he said. “But our [mall locations] have exceeded our expectations in every area, including customer …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron