City waits to hear new owners’ plans for Louis Joliet Mall

The city wants to be a partner in the future of Louis Joliet Mall but still is waiting to find out what the new owner plans to do with it.

Joliet Economic Development Director Cesar Suarez said he has made contact with new mall owner Namdar Realty Group.

“They have been responsive to my calls,” Suarez said. “At this point, I can’t say what their overall plan is.”

Namdar has not responded to calls and email from the Herald-News seeking comments on its plans for Louis Joliet Mall.

The company may still be in the transition phase of taking over the property, so it may be a bit early to share plans, Suarez said.

But the city of Joliet wants to be an active partner not only with Namdar but with all property owners with an ownership stake in the mall, he said.

“There are a total of five owners,” Suarez said. “What I’m in the process of doing is making sure we’re open and accessible as a development partner with the mall owner and the four anchors.”

Namdar paid $31.4 million for the core section of the mall in an online auction that took place in June. The number of bidders was not disclosed. But the two-day auction started at $5 million and reached $15 million on the first day, indicating that the bidding was competitive.

The acquisition did not include the four anchor stores, which are owned separately. Two anchors are open: JCPenney and Macy’s. Two are closed: a former Cason Pirie Scott store and a former Sears store.

The Sears store and its parking area was acquired in December by Ghaben Auto Group, which owns auto dealerships in the Chicago area.

Ghaben also has been involved in residential real estate development and was interested in a combination project that included redeveloping the Sears property for both a dealership and apartments, Suarez said.

The company has not yet approached the city with redevelopment plans and appears to be in “a holding pattern,” Suarez said.

The movement away from indoor mall shopping has devastated many malls around the country.

Namdar, however, has been a big buyer of indoor shopping malls and owns 63 of them.

Namdar owns four other malls in the Chicago area, all of which suffer from high vacancy rates: Ford City in Chicago, Northfield Square in Bourbonnais, River Oaks in Calumet City and Stratford Square in Bloomingdale.

The village of Bloomingdale, concerned about the lack of redevelopment at Stratford Square, has filed a condemnation lawsuit to take over the mall and has created its own development plan for the mall area.

However, Joliet hopes to work with Namdar on any redevelopment at Louis Joliet Mall site, Suarez said.

“In my opinion, this is a very unique property,” he said.

Suarez pointed to the 92% occupancy rate listed for the online auction for the mall.

A walk around the mall indicates 11 vacancies. But unlike some malls, Louis Joliet Mall still is occupied by national retailers, including H&M, Bath & Body Works and Yankee Candle.

Louis Joliet Mall also is home to a Cinemark theater that is the only movie theater in Joliet.

The mall is in the center of the city’s central district for retail and restaurants, but that position is threatened by plans for Rock Run Collection, a mixed-use development that is just getting started at the crossing of Interstates 55 and 80.

Hollywood Casino Joliet is moving to Rock Run Collection, but developer Cullinan Properties so far has announced only one other potential tenant – a Regal Cinemas movie theater.

The development has the potential to strip away retail and restaurants from Louis Joliet Mall area.

Suarez said he still is gauging Namdar’s readiness to keep Louis Joliet Mall a primary retail attraction, although he has been pleased that the company has been returning phone calls.

“It’s an encouraging sign,” Suarez said. “But we’ll see how all this unfolds as we move forward.”