Gar Herring, president of MGHerring Group, is opening two malls more or less right on top of each other in coming months: The Village at Allen in October, followed by The Village at Fairview in August '09. Combined space: two million square feet, with shopping inside and out, in addition to countless other amenities, including an indoor-outdoor event center. Only, as Herring tells The Wall Street Journal's Ann Zimmerman, the malls ain't exactly filling up with retailers: "There just aren't enough tenants to go around," he says. Writes our former Observer-er: "The Herrings' big-box shopping center is slated to open next month and their open-air mall next August. But together, the projects are only 60% leased, based on figures the company provided."
The New York Times, which likewise enjoys the fine work of one Brian Harkin, addresses the same issue: too many malls, not enough folks to fill 'em. Only, it looks a little further north than Allen: to "the Dallas suburb of Sherman." And what does that make Durant then? --Robert Wilonsky
