Built cheaply and then abandoned to chic outdoor “shopping experiences” and high-end destinations, they rot on parking lots in the hearts of small cities, taking up space and reminding folks of the way things used to be.

The old mall remained a ghostly presence for almost a decade, slowly decaying on the edge of North Randall.

“I’m lost for words, because we are so fortunate to get this project,” Mayor David Smith told the Cleveland Plain Dealer .

The e-commerce giant finalized a lease deal Thursday on a planned 855,000-square-foot building, which could open during the second half of next year on a 69-acre site at Warrensville Center and Emery roads.

Sadly this sort of move – the destruction of old real estate for warehouse space – is far more likely an outcome than Foxconn’s plan to build a factory in Wisconsin .