. >> reporter: developer michael markman is giving the area a 21st century makeover. >> what makes it different? re you know, what is different about this, there are a lot of malls being redeveloped around the country because malls are dying everywhere. what we did was really, really aggressive. we took down the whole interior portion of the mall. >> markman is going to replace the old mall with a complex of buildings for shopping, entertainment, apartments and a health-care facility. >> we have about twice as much thtail square footage per capita than any other country in the world. >> reporter: architecture professor ellen dunham jones says reimagining old malls is becoming a necessity. ma is estimated there are about 1,000 malls across the country, around one-third are at risk of failing. f rhode island the historic westminster arcade found new life after adding apartments to the second floor while an old strip mall in tennessee was converted into a church, and the hundred oaks mall in nashville survived after vanderbilt constructed a health facility next to the stores. >> we see a

. >> developer michael markman giving the area a 20th century make over. >> what makes it different? >> you know, waist different about this, there are a lot of malls being redeveloped around the country, because malls are dying everywhere. what we did was really, really aggressive. we took down the whole interior portion of the mall. first building b. >> mark man will replace the old mall with a complex of buildings, for shopping, entertainment, apartments, and a healthcare facility. >> we have about twice as much retail square footage per capita than any other country in the world. >> architecture professor says re imagining olds malls is becoming a necessity. it is estimated there are about 1,000 malls across the country, around one third are at risk of failing. in rhode island the historic westminster arcade found new life by adding apartments to the second floor, old strip mall in tennessee was converted into a church. and the 100 observation mall in nashville survived after vanderbuilt construct add health facility next to the stores. we see a lot of malls that are turned into