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A Scalable Solution

We believe that this innovation has implications far beyond our own walls, and communities.

How so? First, the demand for the kinds of essential services and programs that Northeast Arc provides is growing steadily. In recent decades, advances in medicine have enabled people with intellectual disabilities to live longer, necessitating the kind of ongoing support that the Northeast Arc provides to live healthy and productive lives. Meanwhile, the detection and reporting of certain disabilities, such as autism, have increased significantly. The incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder has increased by 300 percent since 2004. According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control, one in six children today has a developmental disability.

As a society, therefore, we face growing challenges. We need to offer more and better services and find the right places to offer those services. We need more and better answers.

One such answer may well come from an unexpected quarter: the commercial real estate sector. Vacancy rates in malls across the country have been increasing over the past half-decade, especially in regional malls anchored by department stores. The shift to e-commerce and the decline of traditional retailers such as Sears and J.C. Penney has led mall owners to experiment with new kinds of tenants—including doctor’s offices, housing, state motor vehicle branches, and churches. And it’s likely that we’ll see accelerating changes in mall-based retailing, in light of the hardships imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Mall vacancies were at a 20-year high before the virus struck in the U.S.; almost certainly, they are going to go up.

Here’s how those two trends—societal need and the unfolding retail revolution—come together.

What works at the Liberty Tree Mall should work elsewhere in America. We will bring hundreds of people into the mall every day. Retail outlets and restaurants will benefit accordingly. Already, we’re receiving calls from real estate entrepreneurs—as well as nonprofits—from across the country, asking for more information.

In short, we have hit upon an important idea that we believe is scalable. Now we need philanthropic investors to help us test this idea, and make it work.