Montgomery Mall Sale...

Well, alot of readers have been wondering what I thought about the Montgomery Mall sale. Unfortunately, the answer is not a simple one.

For starters, I'm pleased that Glimcher finally unloaded it because that firm was not going to do anything with it other than realize some accelerated depreciation.

At the same time, there's nothing to say that the new firm--though apparently based in Alabama--is going to take any steps to prevent Montgomery Mall's slow death march to here.

Of course, that would be a shame as incredibly wise people have noted that the per capita income within a 5 mile radius of Montgomery Mall is much higher than Eastdale Mall and in the same league as EastChase (okay, maybe the "incredibly wise" is a bit exaggerated but, hey, this is the Internet after all).

So what?

Well, the good news is that the property itself is located near plenty of disposable income that could support development "if". The big "if" being that if it was redesigned in a safe, convenient, pedestrian-friendly way.

You know, something like this former conventional mall.

Now, I know that plenty of people will say something akin to "but Montgomery Mall is just in the wrong part of town" or "there's no way people will go to a dangerous place like that".

Memo to whomever suggests that: there are plenty of popular places in Montgomery (like Cloverdale and the Garden District) that are very popular despite the fact that they are located within miles (and sometimes even blocks) of some pretty rough stuff.

The difference is that they are well-designed which in turn makes them well-loved.

Right now, the Montgomery Mall area is horribly designed--and thus horribly unloved.

The first step for Venture 1--if they really are serious about this property ever amounting to something--is to hire an experience design firm to redesign Montgomery Mall as an urban village-type of development.

And, here and now, I volunteer my time to help with that first steop however I can!