Mall Expansion: Will It Help the Community? [Poll]

Walt Whitman Shops, formerly Walt Whitman Mall, is getting a along with its name change. But is it good for the community?

The upscale shopping destination's expansion will add 11 new stores with a total of 72,000 square feet of additional retail space, according to Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the mall's owners. The project also calls for a pedestrian-friendly exterior streetscape, new landscaping, upgraded site lighting, 150 additional parking spaces, driveway reorientation, new traffic lights and a bus stop relocation to the south side of the property.

The project will bring in retail and construction jobs and enhance the allure of the upscale shopping destination. However, some Patch readers are concerned that the mall's owners are catering to an elite clientele as middle-income shops are squeezed out, and say its ever-soaring heights overshadow ongoing problems in Huntington Station.

Do you think the mall expansion will help the surrounding community? Vote in our poll or tell us in the comments.