Bayshore Mall, in Glendale, Wisconsin – a suburb just north of Milwaukee – is undergoing more than a renovation, evolving from a shopping center into multi-purpose development project. Upon completion, Bayshore will be the state’s first town center, where people live, work, shop and play.

The Bayshore concept reflects a new wave of “suburban downtowns” – in some ways, part of the new urbanism, which is about more densely packed little cities. Changing demographics, and the revitalization of a growing number of central cities and their downtowns, are affecting many inner-ring suburbs, like Glendale.

While traditional shopping centers are anchored by large department stores, the “new Bayshore” will be anchored by entertainment venues, office and housing space.

Slated for completion in time for the 2007 holiday shopping season, Bayshore will include an expanded central mall, along with free-standing mid-rise buildings, and a “modern-day verison of the traditional town square” in the center of the complex.

Yaromir Steiner, one of the mall’s owners says that he expects single-use developements to disappear over the next 25-30 years, to be replaced by mixed-use developments called urban hubs or town centers.