Had a change of heart about big box store retail anchors after visiting a dying strip mall in Tulsa

Drove past the old K-Mart plaza off 71st Street last week and saw four empty storefronts where there used to be steady foot traffic. It made me realize that sometimes those 50,000 square foot spaces are actually keeping the whole center alive, not just eating up parking. Has anyone else seen a strip mall recover after losing its big anchor tenant?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowanjenkins12d ago

You've seen the same thing I have? That K-Mart plaza was a ghost town even before they closed. But you're right, those big box stores are like anchors for an entire shopping center. Once they leave, the small shops usually don't last six months. I watched a strip mall in Broken Arrow just completely die after the grocery store moved out. The little pizza place and the nail salon both closed within a year because nobody had a reason to walk past them anymore.

scott.grace11d ago

Oh please, those big box stores just suck the life out of everything around them before they collapse.