[2] Inland Center, compared to Carousel Mall, succeeded in keeping stores open and filling its vacancies due to its closer proximity to the I-215/I-10 interchange and retention of anchor businesses.

[2] In response to the anchor closures, the mall's owners at the time allowed a mixed-use concept to fill vacated retail outlets at its 3rd Street entrance and its western court/lobby with county offices.

[citation needed] The adjoining movie theater, CinemaStar, also closed its doors in 2008,[2] further reducing foot traffic to the property.

[citation needed] On August 22, 2017 the Carousel Mall closed its doors after evicting the remaining tenants that were still open.

There have been efforts in the late 2000s and early 2010s to create positive interest in San Bernardino's downtown region from various agencies and businesses: the reconstruction of the aging I-215 freeway corridor, the reopening of the former CinemaStar facility as a Regal Cinemas Theater, as well as the San Bernardino Express Rapid Transit project completed in 2013 and 2014 have created some interest in the Downtown area, but the surrounding vacancies of business centers and towers around the Carousel Mall remain considerable obstacles to a comprehensive revitalization effort.

Most planning has been turned down by the City of San Bernardino, Mission Native Americans, various financial institutions, and holding corporations, all of whom have a controlling stake in the mall's development from prior years of investment into the property, forming an effective stalemate on future changes.

Most recently, City of San Bernardino's bankruptcy proceedings have complicated matters further[4] in addition to the State of California's decision to close Economic Redevelopment Agencies and seize funding from the organizations statewide.

First passed in the 1950s as an anti-slum policy, the State of California pioneered the concept of tax-increment financing to promote a modern post-war economy.

In reality, very few redevelopment projects succeeded (a notable example is San Francisco's Embarcadero Center), but most became tax-redistribution schemes.

The idea was to condemn grandfathered low property-tax rate properties and redevelop them as retail centers that would concentrate local sales taxes.

[8] On October 27, 2022, a scrap metal thief, or "scrapper", was found dead after being electrocuted while he attempted to steal copper wiring from a substation.