But the malls many developers are building now are not the regional centers of 1980s. Chicago-based General Growth Properties, for one, last year opened the 2 million-sf Jordan Creek Town Center in West Des Moines, IA, which is a hybrid of an enclosed mall, as well as a Costco-anchored open-air center.

Mall owners are also redeveloping their centers, adding lifestyle, big-box and mixed-use components – and they're not always seeing major returns on their investment right away, pointed out Michael Lebovitz, president of operations at Chattanooga, TN-based CBL & Associates. "We're not in the business of losing money," he said. "But we've seen what can happen when you don't invest."

Too many landlords have looked at their centers as "cash cows," failed to reinvest in the assets, and they have failed, said Kemper Freeman, president of Bellevue, WA-based Bellevue Square Managers. "A significant number of malls got built that never should have been," he said. "It's possible to screw this business up."