Patch: $100 Million Transformation Of Old Orchard Mall Heads To Skokie Plan Commission
15 August 2024
Phase one includes the demolition of the former Bloomingdale's and the construction of over 400 apartments and 16,000 square feet of retail.
Jonah Meadows,Patch Staff
SKOKIE, IL — The future of Old Orchard Mall will be the central topic at a Skokie Plan Commission meeting Thursday, with commissioners set to consider whether to recommend that trustees grant approval for redevelopment plans for the shopping center.
The two-phase project proposed by mall landlord Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, URW, in partnership with Chicago-based developer Focus calls for the demolition of northwest and northern portions of the mall, which will be replaced with new apartment buildings, and possibly a hotel, atop redesigned retail space.
Stephen Fluhr, senior vice president of development at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, told Patch that the new development will include designated affordable units, even though it is not subject to Skokie's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance because staff began reviewing it in February and the ordinance did not pass until May.
"We will solidify what that number is by the commission this Thursday, and we are absolutely planning on offering affordable housing as an aspect of this project," Fluhr told Patch. "And that's just us, honestly, wanting to do the right thing by the community."
The first phase of the project includes the construction of up to 425 apartment units and 16,000 square feet of street-level retail in two buildings, one five stories tall and the other seven stories tall, connected by bridges and common areas.