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Suburban retail redevelopment can mean replacing an enclosed mall, adding a new district around an operating one, or preparing a shopping center for transit-oriented growth. Three cases described by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)—Winter Park Village in Florida, Citadel Mall in South Carolina, and Airport Plaza in New York—show why the right approach depends on a site’s existing assets, ownership and political conditions, and the ability to build in phases. The cases are examples, not a universal recipe, and the project-status descriptions below reflect ASLA’s August 2023 account rather than verified conditions in 2026.
Why are suburban retail centers changing?
Retail sites built around car access and large parking fields face changing shopping habits and tenant needs. ASLA’s 2023 article describes a broader shift from car-oriented retail toward places that support changing patterns and lifestyles. It reports that the authors, Daniel Ashworth, Jr. and Lauren Patterson, cited more than 2,000 active U.S. malls in the 1980s and fewer than 1,000 at the time of publication. The article does not identify the original data source or methodology, so those figures should be attributed to the authors and treated as publication-era context—not as a current mall count.
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The case details and status in this article follow ASLA’s account of the three projects. They are not a current construction-status report.
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What are the three redevelopment strategies?
| Project | Starting condition | Strategy described | Status in ASLA’s 2023 account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Park Village, Winter Park, Florida | Former enclosed mall | Demolition and replacement with an outdoor, mixed-use center | Retail and other development had proceeded, with further changes reported |
| Citadel Mall, Charleston, South Carolina | Active regional mall with some vacancy and changing tenants | Keep the mall operating while planning infill on underused parking lots | City-adopted plan; redevelopment had not proceeded by publication |
| Airport Plaza, East Farmingdale, New York | Active shopping center dominated by surface parking | Plan a walkable, mixed-use district tied to a proposed rail station | Planning produced a form-based code, but the code was not adopted |
These are not three versions of the same construction project. Winter Park began with the removal of the mall itself. The Citadel concept centered on land around a mall that remained in use. Airport Plaza’s plan sought to establish a framework for gradual change around existing retail and a proposed transit connection.
How did Winter Park Village replace an enclosed mall?
Winter Park Village is the clearest example of demolition followed by mixed-use replacement. ASLA describes the original Winter Park Mall as a 525,000-square-foot indoor mall that opened in 1964 and was the first indoor mall in the Orlando region. The source gives a chronology that needs care: it says the mall operated from 1964 to 1999, but also says it was demolished in 1998 and that the first redeveloped stores opened in 1999. Those statements do not align perfectly, so the reliable takeaway is that demolition and redevelopment took place across the late 1990s, rather than assigning a more precise closing date.
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The first phase of Winter Park Village included 350,000 square feet of retail, a 20-screen cinema, 115,000 square feet of offices, and more than 200 multifamily units. Gay Road was extended through the site. The layout used a retail main street, with the cinema positioned as a terminated vista—a visible endpoint intended to give the street a focal point. Rather than recreate an enclosed mall, the project organized several uses around outdoor circulation and a street-like public realm.
ASLA reports later additions of greenspace and housing, as well as efforts to improve walkability and connections to downtown Winter Park and North Orlando Avenue. As of the article’s 2023 publication, reported changes included renovations, conversion of some office space to residential use, additional residential development, new restaurant and nightlife tenants, and a plan to make Gay Road a curbless shared or festival street. These are historical descriptions of what was happening or planned in 2023; they should not be read as confirmation that every change was completed or remains planned in 2026.
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What the case suggests for construction planning: A demolition-and-replacement approach can reset a site’s layout, but the project still has to establish connections beyond its property line. Street extensions, pedestrian routes, public spaces, and links to nearby destinations are part of the redevelopment proposition, not simply finishing touches after the buildings go up. The later conversions and additions also show how a mixed-use center can continue to change after its initial development. That is a lesson about adaptability, not evidence that every use or tenant mix will work on another site.
How does infill work around an active mall?
Citadel Mall represents a different strategy: retain an operating regional mall while considering new uses on its underused parking lots. ASLA describes it as a mall built in 1981, with more than 1.1 million square feet of indoor space and over 100 stores. Its 2023 account portrays the mall as active, though with some vacancy and a changing tenant mix. Examples of uses it mentions include a medical university, a large retailer, a film-production agency, and a fitness center.
The 2017 Plan West Ashley effort proposed workplaces, housing, community facilities, entertainment, and more human-scaled public spaces around the mall. Its three-step concept began with a main street and town square, moved to extended urban infill with structured parking, and envisioned a larger buildout. The plan also addressed transit connections, trails and greenways, bike and pedestrian links, stormwater, and ecological resilience.
The City of Charleston adopted the plan, but ASLA says the Citadel Mall redevelopment had not proceeded by the time the article was published. The plan was presented as inspiration, with progress dependent on initiative from the new owner. Adoption therefore should not be mistaken for construction approval, financing, a development schedule, or a completed project. The available data does not establish what has happened since 2023.
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What the case suggests for construction planning: Building around a functioning mall means redevelopment has to coexist with existing activity. A phased concept can make it possible to start with a discrete public-space or infill area rather than treating the entire parking field as one immediate project. But the plan’s realization depends on conditions beyond design: ownership decisions, market demand, funding, and the ability to coordinate new streets and utilities with ongoing site operations. Those are general implications of the case, not reported construction details or a claim that the proposed phases were built.
What was proposed for Airport Plaza?
Airport Plaza is an active but underused shopping center in East Farmingdale, a hamlet in the Town of Babylon, near Republic Airport. ASLA says the center had a grocery store, a home-improvement retailer, and a cinema, while surface parking dominated the site. A 2017 master-planning effort was prompted by plans for a new Long Island Rail Road station in East Farmingdale.
The proposal aimed for a walkable, mixed-use transit-oriented center. Its physical framework included a fine-grained street grid, legible blocks, and smaller public green spaces. Rather than require every existing building to disappear at once, the plan contemplated repurposing shopping-center buildings as they became available. Early development was envisioned near the station, with later phases following as redevelopment momentum grew.
The planning process produced a form-based code for the transit-oriented area, but ASLA reports that the code was not adopted after political changes and a shift in town priorities. A proposed station was the catalyst in the article’s account; that does not establish the station’s present delivery status. Nor does a master plan or draft code by itself establish that construction is authorized or funded. Station, plan, and code status should be verified from current local sources before making a present-day project decision.
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What the case suggests for construction planning: A transit-oriented framework can organize development around a future connection, but that relationship creates a dependency: if the transit facility, policy framework, or political support changes, the sequence and feasibility of nearby development may change too. The Airport Plaza concept also demonstrates why a plan may address the street network and block structure before individual parcels redevelop. That can provide a longer-term structure while leaving room for existing uses to continue in the interim.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do the cases show about phasing?
Phasing is the common thread in the authors’ discussion. It means arranging a redevelopment so that parts can move forward as market, political, and community conditions mature, rather than assuming every building, street, and public space will be delivered at once. In the three cases, phasing takes different forms: later additions and conversions at Winter Park; a proposed sequence from main street and town square to broader infill at Citadel; and early development near a proposed station followed by later growth at Airport Plaza.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePhasing is not a guarantee of success. A master plan can establish a direction without securing an owner’s commitment, an adopted code, funding, or construction. Citadel illustrates the gap between an adopted plan and redevelopment that had not proceeded by 2023. Airport Plaza shows that a planning process can produce a code that ultimately is not adopted. Winter Park, by contrast, had a built initial redevelopment and subsequent changes reported in the article. The cases do not provide comparable project costs, construction schedules, financing structures, or performance measures, so they cannot establish which strategy is fastest or most economical.
For a construction team or community assessing a similar site, these distinctions suggest several practical questions:
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- What is already useful? Determine whether buildings, tenants, access routes, or parking serve needs that should continue while redevelopment is underway.
- What is the actual land strategy? Replacement, surrounding infill, and gradual repurposing require different site plans and coordination.
- What connections must work beyond the site? Consider streets, transit, walking and cycling routes, greenways, and nearby destinations as part of the larger plan.
- What is the first deliverable phase? A clearly defined initial area can make a long-term concept more actionable, but it still needs an owner, approvals, and a feasible basis to proceed.
- What can change between phases? Tenant availability, ownership, political priorities, and market demand can shift. A phased framework needs room to respond without losing its overall structure.
- What is planned versus authorized or built? Keep plans, adopted policy, proposed infrastructure, and completed construction distinct when communicating status.
Which strategy fits a suburban retail site?
The cases point to a decision based on site conditions rather than a single preferred model. Demolition and replacement may be the relevant precedent when the existing mall is being removed and the goal is a newly organized mixed-use center, as at Winter Park. Infill around an active mall may be more relevant where the retail center remains in operation and underused parking areas are the focus, as proposed at Citadel. A transit-oriented framework may be worth considering when a new or planned station is central to the district’s future form, as at Airport Plaza—but its implementation depends on the transit and policy conditions holding up.
These comparisons do not prove that one approach is universally better. The ASLA article is a professional case discussion, not a longitudinal study or current-status survey. It does not provide a controlled comparison of costs, construction impacts, tenant outcomes, or long-term performance. Its strongest transferable point is narrower and more useful: define the starting condition honestly, connect the site to its surroundings, and make implementation capable of proceeding in phases as real-world conditions allow.
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That distinction matters when reading plans and project announcements. A vision can communicate a future street grid or mixed-use district; an adopted plan can establish policy direction; a code can shape later proposals; and construction delivers physical change. The three examples occupy different points along that path. Keeping those stages separate helps residents, developers, and construction professionals understand what has happened, what has merely been proposed, and what would still need to occur.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a form-based code in a redevelopment plan?
A form-based code generally emphasizes the physical form of development—such as how buildings and streets relate—rather than relying only on separating land uses. Its legal effect depends on local adoption and the specific code language; a planning document that was never adopted does not itself establish binding development rules.
Does a city-adopted master plan mean construction will begin?
No. A plan can express an adopted policy direction without committing an owner to build or securing financing, permits, or a construction schedule. Confirm the project’s approvals and implementation status separately.
Why might a shopping center keep operating during redevelopment?
Retaining existing retail can preserve service and activity while other parts of a large site change over time. Whether that is practical depends on ownership, tenant needs, site access, and the sequence of work; the cases do not quantify those trade-offs.
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What should residents check when a redevelopment plan depends on a future transit station?
Look for current, official updates on the station’s approvals, funding, schedule, and delivery, as well as the status of the land-use plan and related code. A station mentioned as a planning catalyst is not proof that it has opened or that nearby development has been authorized.
