How to save a dying shopping mall

Some investors are buying such centres cheaply and trying to turn them around

The Hudson Valley Mall, nestled on a picturesque hilltop in Kingston, New York, looks like a pleasant place to spend an afternoon — from the outside. Inside, it just feels empty.

Until recently, the 765,000-square-foot structure was best known for its infamous past as the scene of a Columbine-inspired shooting in 2005, when a local gunman fired off 60 rounds from an assault rifle. J C Penney and Co shuttered its store in 2015, and Macy’s Inc closed its doors last year. Smaller retailers followed, and as of February 2016, 33 per cent of the mall space — not including anchor