Malls Need More Than One Function to SurviveThe malls of the future will have to offer more than shopping to stay in business.

[Collection]A number of solutions have been introduced in recent years to save the American mall. The list includes adding residential units, office space, fitness centers and even schools to replace the shuttered stores. While the results have been mixed, many analysts agree that the evolution of the mall is imminent.    “Those enormous boxes were built at a time when it made more sense to fill them with retail. That whole equation has changed,” said Simeon Siegel, retail analyst at Nomura Securities. “I don’t think there will be a single older mall that is 100 percent retail.” Brookfield Property Partners, which recently acquired GGP, a former real estate firm, has about 125 malls in its portfolio. The company has plans to redevelop about 100 of those malls, spending between $800 million and $1 billion a year over the next several years on the endeavor. In the future, none of the malls will be exclusively retail.  “It’s really just a question of timing,” Brian William Kingston, president, chief executive officer and global chief investment officer of Brookfield said during Thursday’s third-quarter conference call. “Introducing other uses and effectively turning them into mini cities is really how to future-proof all of these assets.” The company reported funds

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