Developer buys Lincolnwood Town Center in hopes to bring new project to the village

by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

The declining Lincolnwood Town Center, 3333 W. Touhy Ave., was purchased by a new developer who plans to “reimagine” the 35-year-old mall, but official plans have yet to be determined, the Village of Lincolnwood said.

The 31-acre property at Touhy Avenue and McCormick Boulevard was purchased by a group affiliated with Prairie Ridge Development and Xroads Real Estate Advisors, a news release said.

Xroads will manage the property while the plan for the site is developed in the next several months.

Prairie Ridge has completed retail, mixed-use, and hospitality projects throughout the Chicagoland area, the release said.

“Redevelopment of the Lincolnwood Town Center mall property has been a focus of the Village Board and staff for several years,” said village Mayor Jesal Patel. “We are excited for this next step of redevelopment, and we stand ready to offer assistance to ensure for a successful project.”

The village said that due to declining occupancy, the mall property is primed for redevelopment.

Many residents and business owners have said on social media and in the past that the mall was a frequent target of retail theft.

Years of reporting on Lincolnwood corroborates those statements. Sometimes not a week would go by without several retail theft arrests.

“Lincolnwood Town Center has long been an important part of the community, and we believe it has the potential to evolve into a destination that better reflects today’s needs while creating long-term value for residents, businesses, and the Village as a whole. We look forward to engaging with local leaders as planning moves forward,” said Michael Nortman, a principal of Xroads Real Estate Advisors.

While no plans have been presented, the village has toyed with several concepts for the property since 2022, including keeping Kohl’s and the closed Room Place spaces and a retaining wall while adding mixed-use residential and commercial buildings.

Other concepts from the village include keeping Kohl’s only as an anchor and creating smaller mixed-use buildings where a large-scale commercial use can be situated between Zeigler’s and the corporate campus/life science center, according to the concept plan.

The third option would be to demolish the entire property and start from scratch for residential, commercial and entertainment. While the mall has no date with the wrecking ball or an official closing date, the village Web site addresses concerns from current business owners.

“IF THE NEW OWNER chooses to close the mall, then they are allowed to do so on their own accord. Should there be any news shared with the Village about the mall closing, we will place it on this website,” the village said.

The Lincolnwood Town Center opened on March 15, 1990 with “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White helping to host the grand-opening festivities.

While that was a festive night according to reports, the approval process for the redevelopment of the former Bell & Howell property was highly contentious at times. Then-mayor Frank Chulay had to cast the tie-breaking vote to OK the mall.

Most recently, Lincolnwood has been working on the large-scale District 1860 development at Touhy and Lincoln on the site of the former Purple Hotel that has hundreds of apartments, a planned hotel and new restaurants. Work on the hotel is progressing.

A village official said that work on the Amazon Fresh grocery store anchor is “still up in the air” and building permits have expired, so it is unclear if that will come to fruition.

Amazon Fresh stores have been struggling in certain markets, and according to published reports, the company has either paused expansion or closed underperforming stores.

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