The Galleria Mall in White Plains, NY is another good example of how a center city indoor mall can work. It's located right in the heart of White Plains on Main Street. I'm not really a big advocate of the idea, however it works beautifully there. I'd actually prefer to see outlets, maybe even a shopping district like a Rodeo (long ways away but you get the idea) to make for foot traffic outdoors. No malls please. However, if they can pull it off, I won't stay away from it.
edit: I just wanted to add a link to the White Plains website. It's a city of comparable size to Columbia - downtown that is - and it's had some amazing growth over the past 10 to 15 years. Being so close to New York City hasn't hurt it. Beautiful town.
http://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/