The city, Manassas, has a bigger population than ever, but can't sustain the mall. The mall is in a death spiral. Nobody goes there because it's a dump with no place to shop, and they can't get businesses there because nobody goes there and it's a dump. People from Manassas don't even go there, they just go to other nearby malls for their mall-style shopping when they need something.
At this point, the city would be better served to tear the mall down and replace it with a large outdoor style town center. Cost of living in Manassas is relatively cheap compared to other places in NoVA and with enough mixed-use zoning there, could turn it into an attractive place.
I didn't really dig into the city too much, but over the last 20-ish years, the entire city has death spiraled. Grocery stores closed and were reopened as barely maintained "global marts" that made me want to take a bath after I left, franchise restaurants have closed up. etc.