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https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/
malls-real-estate-shopping-24c3d7fd

Owners Keep Zombie Malls Alive Even When Towns Want to Pull the Plug

Aging malls often take a long time to expire, but they can remain
valuable assets

The exterior of the closed Sears store at the Berkshire Mall in
Wyomissing, Pa.
The exterior of the closed Sears store at the Berkshire Mall in
Wyomissing, Pa.
By Kate King
| Photographs by Michelle Gustafson for The Wall Street Journal
Nov. 26, 2023 5:30 am ET

Listen to article

(2 minutes)

WYOMISSING, Pa.-- The Berkshire Mall here used to get so crowded
around the holidays that the owners hired police officers to manage
the traffic that jammed roads leading to the parking lot. Teenagers
in this upscale borough of Berks County flocked to the mall after
school, gathering in the food court or around the two bubbling
fountains. Pennsylvania native Taylor Swift shopped here in middle
school. 

Today, the Berkshire Mall's parking lot is dotted with five
sinkholes, one so deep you can see the water main beneath. Bon-Ton
closed five years ago, followed by Sears, leaving just one department
store open. The fire marshal has condemned the former Bon-Ton space
due to a partially collapsing roof and other issues. Last week,
shortly before the crucial Black Friday shopping day, the mall's
management scrambled to fix sewer backups that were causing raw
sewage to seep onto the sidewalk near the main entrance.

Copyright (c)2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Copyright (c)2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution
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by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies,
please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit
www.djreprints.com.