Mall Pioneer Jean-Louis Solal Dies at 86

French developer Jean-Louis Solal, credited with bringing the North American-style shopping mall to Europe, died Dec. 25 at the age of 86. Solal developed more than a dozen shopping centers throughout France, Spain and Belgium.

In 1969, Solal opened the first North American-style mall in Europe, Parly 2, in a suburb of Paris. Seeking to root each development in its community, Solal’s early shopping centers were each named for their city or neighborhood followed by the numeral “2” (such as Elysée 2). Solal’s projects introduced skylights to European shopping centers as well as “town center” elements such as skating rinks and cinemas. Solal eschewed the cookie-cutter approach and was known for seeking out innovative design elements and unique tenant mixes for each of his developments. His last major project was Diagonal Mar Centre (Barcelona, Spain), a 936,460-sq. ft. retail and entertainment center, which Solal co-developed with international real estate developer Hines (Houston).

Solal was a longtime trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers and helped to expand the association’s global reach, according to ICSC. He co-founded ICSC Europe and served as its chairman for nearly two decades.