Funny, but I will also list some PROS to this mall, still. I was wrong - I simply now assume all of those cars were a combination of employees and people there for the theatre and a few of the anchor stores still left. I actually saw that some of the parking lots seemed «full» and thought maybe some progression had taken place.
Wanted to update my review 3 years later - had some time off to kill during a hot afternoon in July 2015 and stopped in the mall to have a look around and a fresh perspective. However it does sound like this mall will get a fresh start & a lot more stores which could turn this place around. Overall this mall can’t receive a high rating from me because there are barely any stores. Also headed for demolition is the former food court. Thie first will be the Sears anchor store which has been empty since 2011. The first part of that plan includes demolishing the former stores. The first part of the of the mall redevelopment phase will be focusing on exterior work to the mall building.
In November 2014 a company bought the mall for over $ 9.
After 23 years the mall is going to get a fresh start. There is some good news for this mall however. They look like they could be used tor a monster truck rally because there are pot holes all over & some spots have grass & weeds growing out of them. Add acouple kiosks to that & that is literall all that is left in this mall. This mall also has a Lens Crafters & a GNC. The three main anchor stores that are still left are Von Maur, Carson’s & Kohls. Most of the customers are found in the big three anchor stores & not the mall itself. The place literally has no one in it especially in the actual mall. This mall would be ideal for some older people to come walk around in. The mall was very cool & air conditioned however. The elevators here are all shut down in what I am assuming is an attempt to save some electricity. It is just one big area with chairs to sit down. When I recently came here I was in shock that the entire food court is shut down. This place used to have an awesome food court that you could go to before going to see a movie. In the mid to late 1990’s this place was bustling with business & had every store imaginable. This place is a complete shell of what it used to be. Hopefully whoever owns this property decides to do something with it because it’s such a shame to see this space (which is still surprisingly well-maintained minus the parking lot) go to waste. The only reason to come here anymore would be after-Christmas sales for Carson’s and Kohl’s (if you’re trying to avoid crowds of people, because this location is a lot emptier than some of the other ones). If you’re looking for an actual shopping center/mall in the area, Geneva Commons would probably be your best bet now, but the Chicago Premium Outlets and Fox Valley Mall really aren’t that far either. This would be a great place to shoot sort of zombie apocalypse movie, but definitely not to shop. It seriously reminded me of the opening scene from Warm Bodies where the zombies are just wandering around an abandoned airport. Last time I was here, the escalators were shut off (which makes me assume there is nothing upstairs anymore) but people were still wandering through the empty mall. It’s kind of weird to see what’s an essentially abandoned mall still operating. Now literally all that’s left are a couple of department stores (Kohl’s, Carson’s, Von Maur), otherwise it’s completely empty. I remember being in elementary/middle school when this mall still had stores. THIS IS WHAT I SEE WITH THIS MALL… they’ve already repackaged the name for one… The business trend boomed but only temporarily because the other business around it lost businesses/customers too and they became the sore thumb of the community which end closing their doors.
I’ll update my review when I see this «brand new mall» … I’m a South Park enthusiast and if you watch the recent episode called «SoDoSoPa» where basically the town poured money into a place that was failing which made the city look bad into something repackaged and fresh for the community. Great place to run in if you’re looking for a jog too. I thought Ford City was bad and on a catastrophic road like this but they turned around and got their customer base back after many years but from a business perspective, how do you attract people to this mall if there’s nothing there? This is a mall walkers paradise. You feel like your the only person left in the world and it’s really scary. This is hands down, the most depressing mall in the world.
Out of all the malls I visit just to visit because I like to think of myself as a mall tourist.