Macy’s Closing 150 Locations & You Won’t Believe What The Empty Stores Will Turn Into

One day, we might be able to tell our kids and grandkids that we used to go to a place called a shopping mall to purchase things in person.

Most of us are familiar with the mall setups: you have your anchor stores such as Macy's, JCPenny, Sears and others, then you have the stores that make up the inner-workings of the mall as well.

Those anchor stores are huge spaces, with stores that range between 200,000 and 225,000 square feet.

Now that malls are not as hot as they once were, and Macy's is closing 150 locations in the next few years. What will happen to all that empty store space?

What Will Old Macy's Locations be Used For?

Back in the day, malls sold the whole store spaces to anchor brands such as Macy's, so the retail spaces it has in most malls it owns — not rents. The Macy's locations in malls that are in areas where real estate is in-demand will thrive and be sold off.

According to CNBC's expert, Chris Wimmer, the in-demand locations will likely turn into medical buildings, retirement communities or grocery stores.

For over a decade, there has been a company that helps develop old mall anchor box stores into something new.

Major mall owner Brookfield Properties has gone in and revamped 100 anchor box stores.

One of the malls it redid after a Macy’s closure is Stonestown Galleria in the San Francisco mall. There a former Macy’s is now a Whole Foods, movie theater, sporting goods store and health-care facility.

Other ideas that have spawned to replace old mall anchor box stores are giant ice skating rinks, car dealerships and home furnishing stores.

The ice skating rink seems to be a great idea, as the space is huge, flat and primed and ready to drop in a rink.

In Utah, a former Macy’s is about to become the location of the training and practice facility for the NHL’s new addition, the Utah Hockey Club.

It would be cool to be an NHL player and practice in a former Macy's, get done with practice, and hit up the food court for some toothpick chicken samples.

If you have a Macy's near you, keep an eye on it everyday, as it might soon turn into a retirement home, that you might very well live in down the road.

Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 130 country radio stations nationwide, every night from 7PM to midnight. He plays the best new country music and interviews today's top stars, like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A, + more!