Formerly known as the Granite Run Mall, the Promenade at Granite Run in Media is joining the nationwide trend of shopping centers dropping the word “mall” from their name, write Esther Fung and Khadeeja Safdars for The Wall Street Journal.

Owners of multipurpose, leisure-time consumer destinations say they are changing their names because of significant changes that are overhauling their properties.

Modern shopping centers are no longer simple rectangular boxes of windowless stores surrounded by parking. They now feature gyms, office space, and restaurants along with street lamps, apartments, and hotels.

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“Retail, especially in the context of mixed-use projects, is as much about place, experience, entertainment, wellness, and community as it is about shopping, and the word ‘mall’ doesn’t fully embody those qualities,” said Will Voegele, senior vice president of development at Forest City Realty Trust.

However, Joe Coradino, CEO of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which has kept the word “mall” on the majority of its properties, believes that landlords should focus on making their properties better instead of getting caught up in semantics.

“I don’t think ‘mall’ is a curse word,” he said.

Read more about the trend in The Wall Street Journal by clicking here.

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