Golf Mill Shopping Center

Golf Mill Shopping Center, or simply Golf Mill, 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, three anchor stores (JCPenney, Target, and Ross Dress for Less), an AMC Theatres, a grocery store (Gordon Food Service), an XSport Fitness gym, and a 9-story office tower and other outparcels. Former anchors included Circuit City (closed mid-2000s), Sears and Roebuck (closed December 2018), and Kohl's (closed Halloween 2020).

Golf Mill Shopping Center
Golf Mill Center entrance in 2010
LocationNiles, Illinois, United States
Coordinates42°3′0″N 87°50′14″W
Address239 Golf Mill Center
Opening dateOctober 13, 1960
ManagementSterling Retail Services
No. of stores and services120 (at least 40 open) [1]
No. of anchor tenants5 (3 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,057,000 sq ft (98,200 m2)
No. of floors1 (2 in former Kohl’s, JCPenney, and former Sears)
Parking5,500
Websitegolfmill.com

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 that wasn't connected to the corridors.

Sign along roadside in 2010

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 in the north wing across from Kohl's.

In 2005, Value City Furniture opened, replacing some inline stores and an entrance.

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 has been built next to the Panera Bread and opened to the public August 2020. 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.

On August 21, 2020, Kohl's announced that they will permanently close their store at Golf Mill to relocate to a brand new shopping center in Morton Grove, Illinois, called Sawmill Station. The store officially closed on Halloween 2020.[6]

Renovations

In 1986, the mall had major renovations, with the north end being completely rebuilt as an enclosed portion anchored by MainStreet and enclosing the mall between the Sears and JCPenney, also adding a food court in the process.

In 2006, GGP remodeled the mall complete with new flooring and a new food court entrance, however the north wing and a corridor in the south wing were left untouched. 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

Pace

  • 208 Golf Road [7]
  • 240 Dee Road [8]
  • 241 Greenwood/Talcott [9]
  • 270 Milwaukee Avenue OR Pulse Pace Bus [10]
  • 272 Milwaukee Avenue North [11]
  • 410 East Niles Local [12]
  • 411 West Niles Local [13]
  • 412 North Niles Circulator [14]

References
  1. "Store Directory – Golf Mill Shopping Center".
  2. "Golf-Mill Shopping Center Opened", Chicago Daily Tribune, October 13, 1960
  3. "Malls of America - Vintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s".
  4. "Lord's". Jazz Age Chicago. Archived from the original on 13 April 2011.
  5. Zumbach, Lauren. "Sears to close Niles store, lay off 75". chicagotribune.com.
  6. August 21, Tom Robb | on; 2020 (2020-08-21). "Golf Mill Kohl's Closing Oct. 31, Moving To New Development In Morton Grove | Journal & Topics Media Group". Journal Online. Retrieved 2020-10-29.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. https://www.pacebus.com/route/208
  8. https://www.pacebus.com/route/240
  9. https://www.pacebus.com/route/241
  10. https://www.pacebus.com/route/270
  11. https://www.pacebus.com/route/272
  12. https://www.pacebus.com/route/410
  13. https://www.pacebus.com/route/411
  14. https://www.pacebus.com/route/412
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