Final Store Closes at Huntley Outlet Center

HUNTLEY, IL - All stores at the Huntley Outlet Center have officially closed. The last store, Banana Republic, closed on Saturday, ending the mall's 23-year run at Route 47 and Interstate 90, the Northwest Herald reports. It remains unclear at this point what's next for the the building but village officials said they are continuing to work on a redevelopment agreement with property owners.

The village also is looking for "compliance with more than 190 ordinance violations on the property," according to the Northwest Herald. The violations include rusted light poles, damaged sidewalks and parking lots and crumbled bricks.

Most of the stores at the mall had closed by February but some held out until mid-March. Banana Republic Factory Store remained the last store standing until this past weekend.

Huntley Investment Partners LLC, which consists of California-based Craig Realty Group, Chicago’s Prime Group Inc. and Elgin’s Capital Realty and Development, bought the center in April 2016 and have said industrial use and an major overhaul is being considered for the property, the Northwest Herald reported in an earlier article.

The center opened in 1994 and in its first year, saw double-digit sales growth and hit 92 percent occupancy in 1999, according to the Chicago Tribune. That quickly changed, dropping to 76 percent occupancy in 2011.
With the hopes of drawing more shoppers to the mall, the village of Huntley moved forward with building a new tollway interchange at Interstate 90 and 47, but occupancy continued to drop off---reaching 50 percent by 2015, according to the article.

"The other outlet centers that have been successful in Chicago, Rosemont and Aurora took all the wind out of its sails,", Michael Reschke, founder of The Prime Group, told the Chicago Tribune.

More via the Chicago Tribune and the Northwest Herald

• More Huntley Outlet Center Shops Set to Close Soon
  
• Huntley Outlet Center Could Close by Next Year

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