Palm Beach Mall to be renovated as Palm Beach Fashion Outlets, New England Development announced

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Some good news for the West Palm Beach economy.

The city's first mall was hit hard by tough economic times and all but closed two years ago. Now it's on the verge of getting some new stores; however, those businesses reflect a real change in how people shop.

New England Development announced today they'll turn the Palm Beach Mall into a fashion outlet mall, bringing in stores like Bloomingdale's Outlet Store, Nordstrom Rack, Nike and Old Navy. It's a move everyone is hoping will make the mall's nearly empty parking lot a thing of the past.

Palm Beach Mall is a place that should be bustling with activity. Instead, a tiny sign inside mall doors announces the only two options for shoppers: J.C. Penney and George's Music are the mall's sole tenants.

At 44 years old, Palm Beach Mall is Florida's oldest air conditioned shopping center. Now, it's getting new life. New England Development wants to turn it into an outlet mall by 2013, filling more than a million square feet of retail space and filling the mall's vacant parking spaces.

"I think its a good idea because right now, the place is really bad and it's kind of empty. It's not really a place that you would come, "said Nerlyn Dominguez of West Palm Beach.

Bringing in an outlet appeals to Dominguez who likes to shop smart.

"I like to get specials, clearance, so yes, I like to shop around," she said.

Dr. William Stronge, an economics professor at Florida Atlantic University, said South Florida's retail industry is starting to recover.

"The consumer industry was going gangbusters before the recession and financing using home equity and credit," he said. "Spending in a very big way."

Dr. Stronge said look for those spending habits to change, as new stores appeal to new attitudes by consumers.

"Even though the economy has come back a bit, people are still looking over their shoulder at where they were," he said.

"This one was $24.99," explained Richard Monroe, from Tampa, pulling out a new sweater he purchased.

Even tourists, like Monroe, who shop on vacation, want a good deal and find the idea of checking out a new outlet mall attractive.

"The way the economy is now, yes it would be," he said.

Developers are hoping with its prime location, Palm Beach County residents and the more than four million tourists who frequent the area every year will give the Palm Beach Mall another chance.

Both J.C. Penney and George's Music have plans to stay at the mall. According to Value Retail News, the U.S. has 179 outlet malls. That's down from more than 200 in 2009.