Lifestyle of living at the mall, Memorial Day events: Today's top stories | Daily Briefing

Good Memorial Day morning, Cincinnati. I’m Randy Tucker, and I cover residential real estate for The Enquirer.

I write stories about the places local residents choose to live, including downtown office buildings converted to apartments, historic homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and other famous architects – and, yes, even shopping centers.

I grew up in the Minneapolis metro area, home of the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the nation, Southdale Shopping Center, and the largest mall in the United States, the Mall of America.

I have a natural affinity for shopping centers, whether they’re enclosed malls or open-air, mixed-use retail centers that are increasingly becoming lifestyle destinations offering apartment and condo living.

After a recent weekend eating and drinking with friends, watching a movie and doing a little shopping at a local mixed-use center, my significant other − who loathes the idea of shopping or spending money, in general − asked me with disdain: “You could live at the mall, couldn’t you?”

Thanks to her prodding, I decided to find out what it would be like to live at the mall and tell our readers about it.

Click or tap here to read about the journey.