US malls get makeovers with education elements, entertainment, healthcare

Dallas

SCOTT Beck, the chief executive of a local real estate company, remembers riding his bike as a child to Valley View Center, a shopping mall in North Dallas. Cars filled the vast parking lot and anchor stores such as Bloomingdale's, JC Penney and Sears teemed with customers.

Now, the bustle of shoppers has been replaced by the din of construction - led by Mr Beck, whose company is clearing the way for a new US$3.5 billion development of restaurants, offices and housing. "We're not trying to repurpose the mall," Mr Beck said. "We're simply repurposing the land."