Zombie Malls to Edge Data Centers?

As AI, automation and robotics continue to evolve, a new use for struggling malls and closed big box stores is emerging in the real estate market. The large spaces have the potential to be transformed into small-scale data centers that can bring computing power close to internet-connected, automated devices such as industrial equipment, medical devices, and self-driving cars, ensuring that data is sent and received instantaneously.

The trend is just starting to gain notice as the range of products that require speedy internet connections continues to grow and humanoid robots begin to be scaled for widespread use. These products, from robots and industrial and commercial automation to consumer conveniences like doorbell cameras and smart homes, make up the Internet of Things (IoT) and require data to be transmitted and received at high speeds.

Locating “edge data centers” near where the data in being consumed bypasses the need to transmit it to the central cloud data center and back, reducing latency – the milliseconds between request and result - and taking the workload off the core center. For internet-connected devices and robots that require very quick responses, an edge data center works like a “local brain,” handling data too complex to be programmed into the device that is needed immediately to operate. Edge data centers differ from hyperscale cloud centers, which handle large-model learning and analytics, but aren’t agile enough to process the needed data within milliseconds.

Commercial real estate companies are beginning to take more interest in the potential to repurpose former malls for edge computing. The layout offers large, open-floor areas with high ceilings, and heavy-duty electrical and cooling systems are often in place. They are also located near urban areas, which puts them in proximity of a large number of end users.

Comstock Holdings recently announced that it reached a purchase agreement to buy the largely shuttered Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer Township, Allegheny County. The Virginia-based company, which is a “leading real estate company specializing in the development, acquisition, operation, and management of mixed-use, transit-oriented properties and data center developments” did not immediately indicate what its plans for the property are.

Municipal officials in communities hosting malls will want to take notice of this potential reuse of large commercial properties so that zoning and planning issues can be recognized and addressed in advance of any planned project.