In Other News: A Fifth of U.S. Malls Have High Vacancy Rates

More than two dozen U.S. malls have closed since 2010 and about a fifth of enclosed malls have vacancy rates of more than 10 percent, according to an in-depth report in the New York Times. Green Street Advisors predicts that as many as 60 malls are poised to close.

“Premature obituaries for the shopping mall have been appearing since the late 1990s, but the reality today is more nuanced, reflecting broader trends remaking the American economy,” writes Times reporter Nelson D. Schwartz. “With income inequality continuing to widen, high-end malls are thriving, even as stolid retail chains like Sears, Kmart and JCPenney falter, taking the middle- and working-class malls they anchored with them.”

The Times also mentions a website called DeadMalls.com, which has a clickable map of the country’s abandoned shopping malls, with user-submitted posts and photos.