Bradley to buy Northfield Square mall

The much-discussed purchase of the Northfield Square mall property by the village of Bradley is about to become a reality.

At Monday’s Bradley Village Board meeting, the board approved a resolution authorizing the $6.5-million purchase of 43 acres on nine parcels which make up the struggling mall property currently owned by Namdar Realty Group of Great Neck, N.Y.

If all goes as planned during the next 30 to 60 days, Bradley will go over the parcel in detail to make sure there are no major issues. The property could be in possession of the village by mid to late January, at the latest.

The Bradley administration had made no secret of its intent to purchase the mall property.

Upon the unanimous board vote approving the resolution authorizing the purchase, Mayor Mike Watson had a simple statement for the six-member board: “This is a big moment, guys.”

Indeed.

The purchase of the 527,000-square-foot mall, in which Bradley purchased two adjoining properties — the former Carson Pirie Scott men’s store and the former JCPenney store — in recent years, will clear the way for anticipated major development in this area.

Bradley’s purchase does not include the Movies 10 portion of the mall.

The village has been open about its intention of switching the focus of the August 1990-opened property from retail to entertainment. The mall has lost its four anchor store tenants in recent years and its occupancy rate has dropped into the 30% range.

The previous Bradley administration, led by then-Mayor Bruce Adams, had also met with Namdar leadership regarding the future of the property. Adams, however, gained no movement with a potential sale.

Watson, responding to two mall tenants during Monday’s board meeting, said change would not be taking place immediately.

He didn’t get into specifics with them, but it is clear he and the village board have a completely different use in mind for the property. While the focus will certainly change, he said there will still be room for some retail and restaurants.

WATER PARK NEXT?

The property, located along Bradley Boulevard at the Interstate 57 315 interchange, is being targeted for a massive $75-million indoor waterpark as well.

Preliminary discussions have the village entering into a development agreement to build an enclosed 2-acre waterpark which likely will be attached in some way to the mall property’s spine — meaning the central portion of the mall property — making a singular structure.

“Our first item is how does the water park connect to the mall?” he said.

It is anticipated within 2025′s first four months, key concerns regarding the water park will be addressed, meaning what features can it have or what it can’t have based on costs.

“We want the biggest bang for our $75 million,” he said. “We want to make phenomenal things happen right here in Bradley.”

It would be fair to say this is just the latest “phenomenal” thing Bradley and Watson are targeting. Construction is taking place on a more than $45-million youth baseball/softball complex on 126 acres along St. George Road immediately east of the Super Walmart store.

The baseball/softball complex is slated to open this coming spring.

The goal is to provide not only area residents with unique entertainment options, but Midwestern visitors as well, Watson has said.

The village, through business district taxes alone, generates $4.5 million annually, said Rob Romo, Bradley finance director said after the meeting. Those tax dollars will be used to leverage funds for this development.

Other sources of funding include dollars from the recently-created 597-acre Tax Increment Financing district and sales taxes.

If all goes as planned, the water park could be opened as early as mid to late 2027. The administration has been meeting with those who would like to be part of the water park development.

LENGTHY NEGOTIATIONS

The village and Namdar leadership had been having on-again, off-again discussions for the past two years on the property which in total includes 59 acres.

After the board meeting, Watson said in July 2023, discussions with Namdar began to gain momentum.

Watson said the village proposed a purchase price which for this region, was a fair price. By mid-summer 2024, back and forth conversations heated up and in August, the two sides agreed on a sale price.

Namdar purchased the site in July 2016 for $9.6 million.

The mayor said a management team will be put in place to collect rents and pay bills. He said based on the purchase price, mall rents will cover the site’s expenses.

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