That is pretty crazy how empty American Dream is! That mall just cant catch a break. Finally opens after 20 years, just to get shut down again for the pandemic a few months later. The malls and lifestyle centers around Cleveland all seem to be back to normal compared to pre-pandemic. My local indoor mall, Beachwood Place, is seeing normal crowds, and doesn't have anymore vacant stores than it has had over the last 10 or so years. Even has new big named stores opening (H&M Home, JD Sports).
Back on topic, we do have two "zombie" downtown malls still. The Galleria has no retail stores, but there are restaurant spaces and a bank that have taken space on the first floor and opened outwards to the streets as opposed to inwards into the mall space. The YMCA also took over a large amount of space and moved their local offices into it, again opening outwards to the street, as opposed to into the mall.
Tower City is the other zombie mall. It still has some retail and restaurant space, and a busy train station that is the hub of our heavy and light rail lines. The property owner has been letting the stores close as their leases are up though, in preparation of redevelopment into a financial/tech hive called Block Land that's going to be focused on blockchain technology. They apparently have financing and some big name tenants lined up.
https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and...edrock-detroit