Why not consider housing in this location instead?

The current zoning for the property does allow housing, in addition to commercial development. The Mall ownership has not proposed housing at this time.  The owner of the Mall, Merlone Geier has indicated that housing is still an option that they will consider in the future. At this time, the mall ownership is focused on stabilizing the commercial viability of the mall to ensure it’s long term economic viability and the Costco application is the first step.