University Mall — Attraction in Carbondale

It has been many years since I've last been to University Mall, but per everything I've read about it over time, its future is not looking good at all. It is rapidly becoming a ghost town, as it doesn't even have 30 total tenants now. All of its anchor stores (including Macy's and JCPenney) have since left as well. Yes, malls in general are failing, especially with the presence of online shopping. But why should this mall be in such poor shape, especially in a college town like Carbondale?? University Mall used to be hopping busy and thriving, with a busy food court, a video arcade, and almost every space full. But now, for over the past nearly 20 years, it has been in steady decline; this especially began back around 2003/2004 when the owners made the foolish, careless decision of moving the food court to its current location, and as a result there are no food vendors there today (beforehand it was right at the main entrance, which is surely why it was successful back then). I know many retailers have either downsized or closed completely due to bankruptcy, but I still can't help but wonder; are the current owners just plain greedy and raising the rent to unnecessary levels, thus driving tenants away?? If the owners don't shape up, lower the rent, and start bringing University Mall back to life with more retail and dining options, it could very easily end up going completely flop, like the...

With Ulta Beauty, Bath & Body Works and Old Navy moving into the old Best Buy location this summer, the final nail has been set.

It all started when the greedy landlords jacked up the rent so high that it drove the independent food vendors out of business. Their replacement was a joke with a terrible location. A single corporation running a pizza place, asian themed cuisine, burger joint etc with a mix and match approach to the workers. Having your fried rice made by an employee wearing their pizza place uniform was totally not weird at all.

It doesn’t help that the university has been bleeding students by the thousands each year. The locals are the ones who truly suffer as the city couldn’t care less about them. But the management at this mall have sat on their butts for years.

It was a slow death until JC Penny and Macys closed up shop and it kicked into high gear after that. JC Penny could have maybe survived if not for the peaceful protectors who looted and destroyed it back in 2020. Same goes for the GameStop.

Malls aren’t doing well in general but this one was doing well until the owners decided to get greedy and stupid all at once. It’ll be totally closed...

Whoever is in charge of this place right now needs to either swallow her pride and step down or get fired and replaced, because the state it's in right now is inexcusable. This mall used to hold a very key place in my childhood; every time I came here, it was so lively and things were going very well. Jump forward some 10 years or so, and almost every single one of the vast storefronts that used to have people flocking now house nothing but ghosts. No more food court, hardly any eyecatches near any entrance save the theatre's, and no more care.

Malls aren't a thing of the past, but whoever's running this one should be. You know it's bad when they're turning off lights in front of businesses that are (somehow) still very much open. I'd love to see this place bustling in the way it used to be, but that's never going to happen if the codger twiddling her thumbs on top is resigned to let her position die only when the...