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Oakbrook Center

Coordinates: 41°51′2″N 87°57′11″W / 41.85056°N 87.95306°W / 41.85056; -87.95306
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Oakbrook Center
View of the grassy mall center
Map
LocationOak Brook, Illinois, United States
Coordinates41°51′2″N 87°57′11″W / 41.85056°N 87.95306°W / 41.85056; -87.95306
Address100 Oakbrook Center
Opening date1962; 62 years ago (1962)
DeveloperPhilip M. Klutznick
ManagementBrookfield Properties
OwnerBrookfield Properties &
CalPERS
ArchitectRichard Marsh Bennett of Loebl, Schlossman and Bennett[1]
No. of stores and services175[2]
No. of anchor tenants3
Total retail floor area2,018,000 sq ft (187,500 m2)[2]
No. of floors3 (4 in Macy’s)[2]
Public transit accessPace
Websiteoakbrookcenter.com
The Louis Vuitton store can be seen on the left.

Oakbrook Center is a shopping center located near Interstate 88 and Route 83 in Oak Brook, Illinois. It was originally opened in 1962. It is the second largest shopping center in the Chicago metropolitan area by gross leasable area, only surpassed by Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois.[3] It is one of the top shopping centers in the country – both in terms of sales per square foot and total asset value.[4] The mall features the traditional retailers Macy's, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus. The mall features prominent specialty retailers such as Gucci, Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Aēsop, Oliver Peoples, Shinola, Tory Burch, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Golden Goose, Yves Saint Laurent, and Reformation.[5]

History

Oakbrook Center, which was originally to be named Oakbrook Terrace (but the name was changed when a town near the mall took that name), opened in 1962 with Sears and Marshall Field's, as well as a Jewel Food Store. Bonwit Teller was later added, as was Lord & Taylor in 1973 on the south side. I. Magnin, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus joined the center in a 1981–1982 expansion that doubled the physical size of the center with a new southeast court.

On Christmas Day 1964, a single-screen movie theater operated by Balaban & Katz Corporation (later taken over by Plitt Theatres) was opened at the Oakbrook Center near Saks Fifth Avenue. On its twenty-third year of operation in 1987, the single screen theater was split into four screens when Cineplex Odeon Corporation took it over. Cineplex Odeon also added another four screens, topped by additional retail (including a bookstore), near the Saks Fifth Avenue anchor; these screens closed in 2001 and then reopened in 2018. Bonwit Teller closed their location in 1990, while I. Magnin was shuttered in January 1991, with its former site subdivided in 1994 for specialty stores, including Eddie Bauer and Tiffany & Company. In 1991, a new two-story, open-air addition opened northeast of Sears. Built on top of a parking garage, it added 210,000 sq ft (20,000 m2) of mall retail and a 220,000 sq ft (20,000 m2) Nordstrom.[6] Maggiano's Little Italy opened that same year. Corner Bakery Cafe opened to customers on December 3, 1992. In 1998, Wildfire Restaurant opened.[7]

Saks Fifth Avenue closed its store in 2002 and sold the location to Federated Department Stores, which used the site to open a 90,000-square-foot, three-story Bloomingdale's Home store on September 12, 2003. Cheesecake Factory opened in August 2004. Marshall Field's adopted the Macy's name on September 8, 2006, with Macy's buying the parent company. On November 12, 2008, Barnes & Noble opened.[8] A year later, in 2009, American Apparel (which closed in 2017) opened. In 2010, Gibson's Bar and Steakhouse opened across the street from the mall.[9] Pandora opened its doors in 2011.

General Growth Properties acquired a half-interest and management of the mall in 2004, when it acquired The Rouse Company (which had itself acquired its stake the mall in 2002). It is currently co-owned by Brookfield Properties and CalPERS.

Pinstripes opened as a stand-alone location in the mall parking lot in 2012.[10] In November 2013, Perry's Steakhouse opened in the former basement level of Neiman Marcus.[11]

On January 4, 2012, Bloomingdale's announced that it would close its Oakbrook Home store by March of the year.[12] Two years later in 2014, that building was split and fully leased out to six smaller tenants: The Container Store on the first level; Lululemon Athletica, Tommy Bahama, Hugo Boss, and Aritzia on the second level; and the first PIRCH store outside of California on the third level. PIRCH closed its store on September 30, 2017, as it returned to its original California roots.

In August 2014, Le Méridien opened a 172 guest-room hotel in a former Renaissance Hotel, which was originally a Stouffer Hotel. This is their first in the state of Illinois.[13]

On October 13, 2016, AMC Theatres opened a new 12-screen cinema in a remodeled section of the Nordstrom wing; this remodeling also included a new food hall named "The District."[14]

On June 20, 2017, Sears announced that its Oakbrook Center space would be reconstructed to feature additional stores. It shuttered in September 2017 and reopened on October 5, 2018, on the first level of the mall. KidZania will be joining the center by 2020. Ballard Designs and L.L. Bean, opened on November 9, 2018, and the former of which opened during fall 2018. Additionally, the Sears Auto Center will be replaced by a fitness center that will open sometime in 2020.[15][16]

The dawn of the 2020s saw several storied traditional department store retailers update their brick-and-mortar formats after being encroached upon to a degree by several digital retailers.

On February 26, 2018, it was announced that as part of a strategy implemented to optimize their traditional brick-and-mortar format that Lord & Taylor, which also maintains additional outpost nearby, had selected this outpost to shutter.[17]

On April 22, 2019, it was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing plan to eliminate its brick-and-mortar format.[18][19] Puttshack joined on November 3, 2021.[20]

In September 2021, a three-story Restoration Hardware store opened. It features a restaurant and winery at the top.[21]

Shooting

On December 23, 2021, a shooting was reported at the mall around 5:44pm CST. The incident was apparently a shootout between two individuals. One of the shooters was struck four times, was treated and is in custody; the other escaped capture. Three bystanders were struck in the incident. All persons involved had non-life-threatening injuries. The mall re-opened the following day.[22]

Anchors

Current

Former

Bus routes

Pace

  • 301 Roosevelt Road [23]
  • 322 Cermak Road/22nd Street [24]
  • 332 River Road/York Road [25]

References

  1. ^ "Richard Marsh Bennett (1907-1996)".
  2. ^ a b c "Oakbrook Center". Brookfield Properties.
  3. ^ "Largest Shopping Malls in the United States (2006)". American Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University. Archived from the original on July 16, 2006.
  4. ^ Thomas, Lauren. "America's 10 most valuable malls are bringing in billions in sales. Here's where they are". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  5. ^ "Oakbrook Center Stores, Directory & Map | Oakbrook Center". www.oakbrookcenter.com. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
  6. ^ Ziemba, Stanley. "NORDSTROM TO OPEN STORE IN OAK BROOK". chicagotribune.com.
  7. ^ "Oakbrook Center Wildfire restaurant laying off 35 employees". Chicago Tribune.
  8. ^ Service, Staff reports GateHouse News. "Barnes & Noble to open in Oakbrook Center". www.mysuburbanlife.com.
  9. ^ "Opening Soon: Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse Oakbrook Location".
  10. ^ "Pinstripes Celebrates Grand Opening in Oak Brook".
  11. ^ "Now Open: Perry's Steakhouse & Grille's First Chicago-Area Location". 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Oak Brook Bloomingdale's Set To Close - NBC Chicago".
  13. ^ "Le Meridien Debuts in Chicago with Opening of Le Meridien Chicago – Oakbrook Center" (Press release). Business Wire. August 4, 2014.
  14. ^ "Oakbrook Center joins luxury movie theaters market". Chicago Tribune.
  15. ^ Zumbach, Lauren (20 June 2017). "Sears temporarily closing Oakbrook Center store". Chicago Tribune.
  16. ^ Fieldman, Chuck. "Jaclyn Smith, 300 shoppers come out for Sears reopening at Oakbrook Center". chicagotribune.com.
  17. ^ Zumbach, Lauren (February 26, 2018). "Lord & Taylor closing at Oakbrook Center". Chicago Tribune.
  18. ^ Fieldman, Chuck. "Sears closing Oakbrook Center store Sunday; liquidation under way". chicagotribune.com.
  19. ^ "Champs Sports opens first Community Store in Oakbrook Center". Chicago Tribune.
  20. ^ "Puttshack Announces November Opening Date for Its Second U.S. Venue at Oakbrook Center".
  21. ^ "Upscale home furnishings store RH opens in Oak Brook".
  22. ^ "Oak Brook mall shooting: Police searching for suspected shooter after 4 shot inside Oakbrook Center". MSN.
  23. ^ "301 - Roosevelt Road | Pace Suburban Bus".
  24. ^ "Pace Bus - Route 322".
  25. ^ "332 - River Road – York Road | Pace Suburban Bus".