CHICAGO—Ford City Mall, once a mid-century Chicago retail icon and the pride of Mayor Richard J. Daley, is set to close forever next month after six glorious and not-so-glorious decades on Chicago’s South Side.
The city maintains that the aging building, a former World War II munitions and automotive plant converted into an enclosed shopping center in 1966, has become a death trap. In April, building and fire officials requested the Chicago Department of Law file an emergency motion to vacate the mall following a fire pump test failure.
The vacate order was extended to May 15 to give the current owner, Namdar Realty Group, time to work with the Chicago Fire Department to restore the fire suppression system and give its 16 remaining retail tenants more time to make relocation plans.
In 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 maintains that the fire suppression system is still not fully functional.
At this month's court hearing, a judge ruled that the mall must close by noon, June 22. In addition to the defective fire suppression, city officials pointed out that soil instability beneath the main building could “lead to the creation of a sinkhole and catastrophic structural failure of portions of the mall itself.”
Last year, Kurv Industrial (formerly Bridge) approached Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) with a proposal to demolish the existing building and construct a 913,000-square-foot logistics center with 923 parking spaces and 92 loading docks.
“Investors are still moving forward on logistics,” said Vernon Wiltz, business liaison for the 18th Ward alderman.
Wiltz told Patch that Namdar, which purchased the declining mall in 2019 for $16.6 million, is litigating its tenancy issues.
“They’re trying to get as much lease money as possible from the remaining tenants at Ford City,” Wiltz said. “Namdar doesn’t care about safety.”
The mall’s maintenance crew’s hands are tied, needing permission for tasks as basic as cutting the grass and anything else that breaks, Wiltz claimed.
“There were a couple of building engineers who said, ‘I can’t work like this,’” he said. “The mall is losing 10,000 gallons of water a day. There are so many tunnels [under the building]. There is no telling where the water is going.”
Residents have also started a Change.org petition to save Ford City Mall from demolition and restore it into a retail destination. Another neighbor-led group, called the Southwest Action Network, has held community meetings where residents have expressed their desires to turn the parcel into a YMCA, affordable housing, or green space.
Propping up Ford City in its waning years is the mall’s last remaining department anchor store, JCPenney, which recently re-upped its 5-year lease at Ford City amidst the ongoing legal battles between Namdar and the city.
Following the court order earlier this month, JCPenny confirmed in a statement that it would close its Ford City location on June 21.
“Despite our best efforts to remain at Ford City Mall, we have been required by the city of Chicago to close this location along with all the other remaining tenants at the property and will be exiting the property in the next 30 to 60 days.
“We are actively exploring opportunities for a new store location in the surrounding Chicago area and look forward to sharing updates as plans develop.”
JCPenney
On Memorial Day weekend, JCPenney, fully stocked for summer, was jammed with shoppers taking advantage of the liquidation sale offering 40- to 70-percent discounts. Employees said they haven’t been told of any plans beyond the Ford City JCPenney's impending closing on June 21.
Much like a dying body whose organs are shutting down, only a scant few businesses remain inside the main building—Lids, The Shop that carries hip urban wear, and a few watch repair shops.
Meanwhile, a stroll through the old mid-century shopping mall’s main concourse, the bones of where B-29 bombers, airplane engines and Ford cars were once made, can still be seen in the main building’s rafters and underground tunnels.
Related:
- Ford City Mall Given Notice It Could Be Shut Down Due To 'Imminent Health And Safety Risks'
- Proposed Plan For $150 Million Massive Redevelopment Of Ford City Not A Done Deal Yet
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