The incredibly successful mall event that turned out to be a dog

3/4/2019
Elisabeth Ostrander, the marketing manager of Rosedale Center in Roseville, Minn., had a brainstorm one blizzardy day last winter. Why not open the mall during pre-shopping hours for people to walk their dogs without freezing to death. What a great community promotion.

And that it was. The JLL-managed mall attracted more than 300 dogs (and more dog owners) on the first weekend.

“It’s an enjoyable way for the dog and us to get some steps in [during] the winter, Roseville resident Matt Hagen told CityLab.com.

Crowds of dogs and their walkers returned every weekend. Even the occasional cat-on-a-leash snuck in. But Rosedale’s dog walk turned out to be too successful for its own good.

That many dogs can leave behind some unsavory smells and deposits, and the Rosedale maintenance crew was hard-pressed to deal with it. The mall moved the two-hour event forward to a starting time of 8 a.m. to give the crew an extra hour to clear the air, but it wasn’t enough.

Rosedale recently announced the cancellation of the event.

CitiLab writer Cinnamon Janzer noted that traditional enclosed malls face a challenge with such traffic-building promotions.

“Malls aren’t true public spaces,” she wrote. “And, when push comes to shove, it becomes clear that they were never meant to be anything else.”
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