New large-scale redevelopments are starting to make some pockets of the Chicago suburbs mirror the dense, walkable city they surround.
)
“Everybody up here is doing projects that are walkable to all these restaurants, nightlife, entertainment, shopping,” Brad Friedman, director of Midwest operations at The Lynmark Group, said at Bisnow’s Chicago northern suburbs event held at Saranello’s on Thursday. “That's the attraction.”
The Lynmark Group is working on a $110M, 302-unit multifamily apartment building as part of a sweeping redevelopment of the former Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, Illinois, into a mixed-use district. Friedman said one of the main reasons the company decided to participate in the project is its walkability.
Redeveloping a mall comes with the challenge of not wanting residents to live in a “concrete jungle,” so landscaping and open space are crucial, Friedman said. The company is focused on bringing as much residential density to the suburbs as possible because there is a lack of product in the area, he said.
Vic Howell, vice president of development at Focus, is working on two suburban multifamily projects that are a part of mall redevelopments. Focus partnered with Centennial and Atlantic Development for a two-phase project at Hawthorn Mall with 593 total apartment units, 311 of which have already been delivered.
The company is also working on a phased development of about 400 units at Old Orchard mall alongside URW. Howell said that in both projects, Focus works to balance residents’ needs: Some of its residents want more of an urban and active feel in these communities, while others want a quieter lifestyle while still having access to amenities.
Development of the project at Old Orchard is unique because the work is happening alongside an active mall, and the developers have to make sure retail tenants also remain happy, Howell said.
“It was eye-opening, at least to me, how much more surgical we need to be when pieces are moving, and that goes from the planning stages,” he said.
)
Tucker Development President Aaron Tucker delivered a 245-unit multifamily development minutes from the Old Orchard mall, as well as 49 build-to-rent townhomes. He said the company’s vision was taking a former office complex on an 11-acre site and providing a range of housing options for the village of Skokie.
There is a new walking path that takes residents right to the mall, and Tucker Development offers branded scooters and bikes to borrow and take to shop.
“If you want to live at the mall, you'll live at Focus' project. If you want to live near the mall, you can live at our project,” Tucker said. “We're giving good complementary offerings for the submarket.”
Centennial’s Hawthorn Mall redevelopment is a major repositioning of an asset that’s been a part of the community for five decades, said Sam Whitebread, the company’s vice president of development and tenant coordination. Centennial is about five years into a redevelopment plan that will stretch between eight and 10 years, he said.
Whitebread said the project has evolved alongside the changing demands of the community and shifting dynamics in the retail space.
“The destination is the same, but along the way on these long-term eight- and 10-year projects, maybe the route to get there is slightly different,” Whitebread said.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)