Golf Mill Shopping Center
 Golf Mill Center entrance in 2010 | |
 | |
| Location | Niles, Illinois, United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°3′0″N 87°50′14″W / 42.05000°N 87.83722°W |
| Address | 239 Golf Mill Center |
| Opening date | October 13, 1960 |
| Management | Sterling Retail Services |
| No. of stores and services | 120[1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 (5 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,057,000 sq ft (98,200 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in Kohl’s, JCPenney, and former Sears) |
| Parking | 5,500 |
| Website | golfmill |
Golf Mill Shopping Center, also known as Golf Mill Center, is a shopping mall located at 239 Golf Mill Center in Niles, Illinois. The shopping mall has a gross leasable area of 1.1 million square feet (100,000 m2). It is managed by Sterling Retail Services. It borders the intersections of Golf Road (Illinois Route 58), Milwaukee Avenue (Illinois Route 21) and Greenwood Avenue. The shopping mall has over 100 specialty shops, four department stores (JCPenney, Target, Kohl’s and Ross Dress for Less), an AMC Theatres, two grocery stores (Shop & Save Market, Gordon Food Service), an XSport Fitness gym, a 9-story office tower and other outparcels.
History
Golf Mill opened to the public in October 1960[2] as an open-air mall and featured an office tower (designed by Chicago architect Edo Belli to look like the top of a golf ball) and Sears. It featured a full "mill" theme, complete with ponds, bridges, and a working waterwheel.[3] Soon after opening, a Lord's department store was built,[4] but closed after a few years and was replaced by JCPenney. Around that time, the Mill Run Playhouse was built at the north end of the complex. It wasn't connected to the mall corridors.
General Growth Properties took over the management of the Golf Mill Shopping Center in 1994.
After General Growth Properties went bankrupt, Milwaukee Golf Management Corporation took over the management of the Golf Mill Shopping Center in 2009. Sterling Organization purchased Golf Mill Shopping Center in August 2014 via a private equity fund, and its subsidiary, Sterling Retail Services is currently managing the property on behalf of the fund.
Store Openings
In 1989, MainStreet was acquired by Kohl's.
On October 11, 1998, a Target opened near Kohl's.
Value City Furniture was added in 2005 near Target and Kohl's.
In 2010, Kerasotes ShowPlace 12 was acquired by AMC.
Circuit City which opened in 1990 and located outside the mall closed in the mid-2000s. It was later replaced with a Lucky McGee's sports bar. It closed in January 2016.
Gordon Food Service opened outside of the mall to customers in July 2011, located on the south section of the parking lot near JCPenney.
Ross Dress for Less opened in 2012, replacing a dead section of the mall.
The mall has added a Panera Bread across the main entrance in early 2017.
Ulta Beauty opened in November 2017, replacing the south section of the food court.
On October 4, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 12 stores nationwide. The store closed in December 2018.[5]
A Chase Bank is also being built next to the Panera Bread and is set to open later this year. The mall also is planning to build a Chick-fil-A restaurant on the northwest corner of the parking lot, set to open in 2021.
Renovations
Renovations came to the mall in 1986, with the north end being demolished and rebuilt as an enclosed portion anchored by MainStreet and enclosing the mall between the Sears and JCPenney. The renovations and new north wing containing a MainStreet also added a food court.
In 2006, GGP remodeled the mall, installing new flooring, a new facade, lighting, and entrances, but only in the south wing of the mall. The remodel also added a 12-screen Kerasotes movie theater.
When Ulta first opened in 2017, the mall has planned to relocate the former south food court next to AMC, but it was scrapped.
Bus routes
- 208 Golf Road [6]
- 240 Dee Road [7]
- 241 Greenwood/Talcott [8]
- 270 Milwaukee Avenue OR Pulse Pace Bus [9]
- 272 Milwaukee Avenue North [10]
- 410 East Niles Local [11]
- 411 West Niles Local [12]
- 412 North Niles Circulator [13]
References
- ^ "Store Directory – Golf Mill Shopping Center".
- ^ "Golf-Mill Shopping Center Opened", Chicago Daily Tribune, October 13, 1960
- ^ "Malls of America - Vintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s".
- ^ "Lord's". Jazz Age Chicago. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011.
- ^ Zumbach, Lauren. "Sears to close Niles store, lay off 75". chicagotribune.com.
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/208
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/240
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/241
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/270
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/272
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/410
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/411
- ^ https://www.pacebus.com/route/412