Malls Seek to Evolve as the Pandemic Hastens a Retail Overhaul

Malls Seek to Evolve as the Pandemic Hastens a Retail Overhaul

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Operators have spent billions positioning themselves for a future with few or no department stores by reconfiguring their properties for other options, including housing, health care and logistics.

Brookfield Properties is spending $149 million to overhaul the Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco, adding a Whole Foods, a health care provider and a Sports Basement sporting goods store.Credit...Jason Henry for The New York TimesJuly 28, 2020, 9:00 a.m. ET

In southwest San Francisco near San Francisco State University and championship golf courses, Brookfield Properties is redeveloping its Stonestown Galleria in perhaps the most disruptive retail environment in modern times.

Macy's vacated the mall in 2018, and Nordstrom followed about 18 months later. Consequently, Brookfield, a global real estate developer and manager, is spending $149 million to reconfigure the 804,000-square-foot property, adding a Whole Foods, a health care provider and a Sports Basement sporting goods store, while expanding an existing Target and relocating a stand-alone Regal Cinemas to inside the mall.

Plans to build apartments are also in the works at the property, which after reopening in June was ordered to close again as coronavirus cases surged in California.

More than just a routine overhaul, the improvements represent an effort to stay relevant as growth in