The bottom line is that malls now have an opportunity to rethink the space. The Simon Property Group Inc., based in Indianapolis, has been hit the hardest by Plano, TX-based JC Penney's 55-store shutdown. Five Simon malls are losing JC Penney anchors, freeing up 724,000 sf of prime retail space. According to insider information, the annual effect tallies less than a penny a share or about $1.1 million. But there's also 33 Montgomery Ward anchors going away in the REIT's 185-million sf portfolio. So thinking, they are over at Simon's headquarters and the prospect is looking pretty good for baiting big-box retailers to share the roof with specialty stores. That's what has happened at Washington Square Mall in Indianapolis where the Ward vacancy has been re-tenanted by Target. "We would not be surprised to see another couple of big-box tenants replace JC Penney at this mall," says the inside report. And, conclude the soothsayers, Washington Square Mall isn't a major player so it may be the best thing that could have happened in the long term.

Every possibility is being given thought these days: power centers, big-box tenants, specialty kiosk space and even courting traditional out-parcel tenants to the mall's hallowed halls. There's a fundamental shift in what malls have become at the behest of the shopping public, says Michaels.

"I think it's going to be a challenge," Hessam Nadji, managing director and chief marketing officer for Marcus & Millichap, tells GlobeSt.com, "and it will require unconventional solutions." A recession will add even more pressure on mall owners. But, cautions Nadji, it may not be as easy to fill the space as the owners believe. Michaels disagrees, given America's penchant for shopping and the now-preferred, lifestyle-driven retail. It's a pretty safe bet that the space won't be filled by retailers looking to expand in today's existing market, say the men.