CHICAGO—The owner of the beleaguered Ford City Mall was given notice to vacate the building last Friday, citing that the defective fire suppression system has posed an imminent health and safety risk to commercial tenants and occupants.
Following a fire pump test failure earlier this month, fire and building officials requested that the Chicago Law Department file an emergency motion to vacate the mall on April 10.
According to a statement from the city’s law department, the mall's fire suppression system has been riddled with leaks and hasn’t functioned properly for the past two years, “which, in the event of a fire, could result in severe death and/or injury.”
The city also maintained the unidentified leaks in the system “could potentially undermine the stability of the soil supporting the mall and lead to the creation of a sinkhole and catastrophic structural failure of portions of the mall itself.”
The complaint filed by the city cited violations for a broken fire suppression system dating back to May 2024. The Chicago Fire Department has attempted to work with Namdar to restore the fire suppression system. As of last week, the city said the fire suppression system is still not fully functional.
In addition to fire suppression issues, the complaint stated that conditions at the mall are deteriorating. Department of Building inspectors claim to have found large vacant spaces, flooding, open wiring, dirty conditions, and poor lighting.
“The combination of the flooding and the open electrical wires presents a dangerous and hazardous condition.”
The complaint maintains that the owner has met repeatedly with the Chicago Fire Department to assist them in restoring the fire suppression system. Among the issues identified were huge water leaks, burst sprinkler heads, and blown booster pumps. Despite Namdar’s efforts, the fire suppression system is still not functional. The latest system failure occurred during a fire pump test on April 6, 2026.
During a hearing on Monday, Judge Leonard Murray gave Namdar Realty Group, the owner of the mall, until Thursday to respond and ordered that the mall’s 16 remaining tenants be given notice to vacate.
The once grand mall at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. has gone through various incarnations as a defense plant during World War II and the Korean War and as a Ford Motor Co. automotive plant. The main building was converted into an enclosed shopping center that opened in 1965 and became a shopping mecca for the Southwest Side.
In recent years, Ford City has struggled with significant vacancies and disinvestment. Namdar Realty Group purchased the distressed mall in 2019 for $16.6 million. The sole remaining anchor is JC Penney, which reportedly renewed its lease in March.
Last fall, Kurv Industrial (formerly Bridge) floated a plan to acquire a portion of the property and demolish the building to construct a logistics center for $150 million. Kurv opened a similar logistics center at 5133 W. 65th St. in Bedford Park.
Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) has stated that the project would put “acres and acres of land back on the tax rolls.” The alderman told residents at a community meeting in September that while he supports commercial development in the 18th Ward, he would not go against the wishes of the community. Nearby neighbors in the Scottsdale area supported keeping Ford City as a retail center or building affordable housing.
Namdar would keep the retail properties along Cicero, which include Marshall's, Ross, Old Navy and other stores. The Ford City AMC 14 movie theater would also remain, the 18th Ward business liaison, Vernon Wiltz, told Patch.
The city said in its complaint that it was aware of the pending sale of “a portion of the property.”
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