It’s a mall world

What about that other mall? You know, the big boxy one with all the vacant storefronts in it? Remember Downtown Plaza? Some city leaders want the mall’s owners, the Westfield Group, to lure a new high-end anchor tenant, like Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue, to the mall. Westfield meanwhile will soon release another round of plans for a mall makeover, including a Target store, new theaters and a grocery store.

But we figure there are more interesting ideas out there, ideas that ought to be on the table before the city sinks any public money into refurbishing the mall

We also know that a lot of architects, artists, educators and other smart folks read our paper. What do you think should be done with downtown’s flagging flagship retail center? Maybe we should tear the roof off and convert it into a “lifestyle center,” which is the trend nowadays for dying malls. Or, should we just blow the thing up (metaphorically or otherwise) and start over? How about a Mormon temple? Skate park? Indoor petting zoo/farmers’ market? We want to know what you’d do with Downtown Plaza if you controlled the purse strings and the building permits. No idea is too big, too crazy or too brilliant. Send your thoughts to <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> </script>.