Quote Originally Posted by Hermod View Post
Retail bailed out of Rochester and Birmingham long before the internet became a factor. The supermarkets unassed downtown for strip malls and the department stores went into the enclosed malls. Now the internet is competing with both malls and shoppes [[unless there is a niche product).
This is correct. Downtown Birmingham was in the process of losing its "practical" retail 30 years ago. The rise of internet shopping simply further reduced the number of viable business types.