I could be wrong, but it seems like the cost to demolish a mall and completely rebuild is dwarfed by the value of the real estate. I don't particularly want to live in a former mall, but I might be interested in a condo in the same location. Just demolish everything and have developers create new living spaces from scratch. Malls are mostly parking lots anyway.

I may be drastically underestimating the cost of such a project. But the real estate for centrally located malls is likely to continue increasing in value.