I was wondering how it was possible for Macy's retail employees to work in the mall prior to Amazon's purchase, but how it was unsuitable for software engineers. Surely at one point the Macy's employees were selling fancy clothes, perfumes, and housewares from that location...
I'm sure the costs would be prohibitive at most malls, but the best use of a mall I can think of would be to use the former stores for SCIFs and other secure work areas, onsite hosting, etc. then maximize skylights for the central atrium. The lack of windows in the former store spaces works in one's favor in these use cases.