Lincolnwood Town Center demolition to enter next phase in August

by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

A third of the Lincolnwood Town Center, 3333 W. Touhy Ave., is gone, with the next phase of demolition slated to begin this month on the main portion of the shuttered suburban mall.

A LARGE retail store  and an auto dealership are planned for the site but the village is silent about redevelopment. 

Demolition of the former Harlem Furniture store on the southeast side of the parcel near McCormick Boulevard began on June 25 and appears mostly completed.

Demolition of the main entrance portion, with its multi-story glass facade and atrium, along Touhy is scheduled to begin in August “following the complete vacancy of the remaining mall tenants,” according to the Village of Lincolnwood.

Phase three of the demolition will eventually include the Kohl’s store, the village said, but Kohl’s has been operating as normal during the demolition.

The 36-year-old mall officially closed on July 23. It opened on March 15, 1990.

The 31-acre property at Touhy Avenue and McCormick Boulevard was purchased by the Lincolnwood Property Owner LLC group, which is affiliated with Prairie Ridge Development and Xroads Real Estate Advisors, a  news release said earlier this year. Xroads is managing the property. Prairie Ridge has completed retail, mixed-use, and hospitality projects throughout the Chicagoland area, the release said.

In April, the Lincolnwood Board of Trustees approved a pre-development agreement with the project developer. The agreement is non-binding but the village and the developer plan to work together in “good faith” to get the project over the finish line.

Any future development will require a public hearing process and approval from the board.

The name of the new store has not been revealed, but the agreement states that proposed is “a large retail store with a footprint of approximately 150,000 – 175,000 square feet, on a portion of the property comprising approximately 20-25 acres, which will be a large-format retail establishment that sells a broad assortment of merchandise at discounted prices,” and “an automobile dealership, on a portion of the property comprising approximately 5 – 6 acres; and additional commercial and retail uses.”

A Walmart Supercenter is across Touhy Avenue in Skokie. Village officials did not return messages about specifics about the name of the planned store.

The nearest Costco is in Niles. A spokeswoman for Target said there were no plans to build a super store there. Rumors have begun.

Many residents on social media have said that the future use is essentially “what’s there now,” with some offering memories of a bygone era.

“I remember when they built it. The developers were originally met with opposition from the village. Glad they prevailed, the mall served many nearby communities at its peak,” one resident wrote on Facebook.

“This so saddens me. Not even two miles from my home, at Lincolnwood Town Center I’d get my eye exams and glasses, get my haircut, buy some jewelry, eat at various stores throughout the mall. Loved looking at what’s offered at the kiosks. Once very vibrant,” wrote another.

“A complete waste of a usable structure. This could have been re-used for housing in an area where the shortage is so acute, multiple offers over already high asking prices are the norm,” a resident wrote.

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