Lincoln Mall

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Lincoln Mall
LocationMatteson, Illinois, United States
Coordinates41°30′8″N 87°43′41″W / 41.50222°N 87.72806°W / 41.50222; -87.72806Coordinates: 41°30′8″N 87°43′41″W / 41.50222°N 87.72806°W / 41.50222; -87.72806
Opening date1973 (1973)[1]
Closing dateJanuary 7, 2015 (2015-01-07) (Inside) March 4, 2018 (2018-03-04) (Carson Pirie Scott)
DeveloperRandhurst Corp.
ManagementFreehold Management
OwnerFreehold Management
No. of stores and services10+
No. of anchor tenants1 (0 in original mall Jcpenney outside of former mall sight)
Total retail floor area~225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2)[2]
No. of floors2
Websitewww.lincoln-mall.com

Lincoln Mall was a shopping mall located at the corner of U.S. Route 30 and Cicero Avenue in Matteson, Illinois, an inner-ring suburb in the Chicago area.

History[]

Lincoln Mall opened in 1973[1] with anchors Carson Pirie Scott, Montgomery Ward, Wieboldt's, and JCPenney. The center was developed by Randhurst Corp, the same developer consisting of Wieboldt's and Carson's executives who developed Randhurst Mall and Lakehurst Mall. Wieboldt's closed in the 1980s. In 1991, Walmart and Sam's Club opened across the street from the mall. Walmart moved to Olympia Fields in 2016, while Sam's Club officially closed on January 26, 2018. A year later in 1992, Best Buy opened in the surrounding area of the mall. It closed in 2012. The mall underwent a renovation in 1993. In 1995, Sears opened in the former Wieboldt's location. Montgomery Ward closed their store in 1999 and went bankrupt soon after. In 2000, JCPenney closed their location in Lincoln Mall. Due to the loss of two anchors, mall traffic declined and many stores began to vacate Lincoln Mall.

In 2006, Lincoln Mall started the process of a $115-million redevelopment in hopes of attracting more retailers to the mall. The plan included a multi-screen movie theater and a four-lane road to connect Cicero Avenue and Lincoln Highway. However, it include demolitions of existing outparcels and a section of the mall where Montgomery Ward and JCPenney had been. In 2007, two new stores opened at the site. Target, with a 126,000-square-foot (11,700 m2) store built on an outparcel, opened in July and JCPenney returned with a 104,000-square-foot (9,700 m2) store in October, also on an outparcel.

On May 11, 2012, Sears began a store-closing sale.[3] On June 1, 2012, Lincoln Mall was scheduled for a court ordered sale by auction.

In August 2013, representatives of Matteson attempted to sue the mall owners and order that the mall be closed, due to safety and building code violations including exposed electrical wiring, an inoperative sprinkler system, blocked fire exits, a crumbling roof, and a damaged foundation.[4]

On November 11, 2014, Cook County Judge Thomas Condon ordered that the mall be closed permanently as of January 7, 2015, with the exception of Carson's (whose building is owned separately by its parent company), which was to remain open. Operating funds that owner Michael Kohan initially provided for the mall's upkeep had been depleted and nothing remained to keep the mall operating after December. Kohan provided a court-appointed receiver with only $100,000 in the preceding 15 months to pay for repairs, maintenance, and staffing, while the number of remaining tenants paying rent was insufficient to sustain daily operations. The mall would have needed to replace several exits and repair electrical and air conditioning systems in order to be brought up to code.[5]

In late 2016, photos of the abandoned mall surfaced, as part of a photo project by photographer Seph Lawless.[6][7]

In February, 2017, a Cook County Circuit Judge ordered immediate demolition of the mall. On March 17, 2017, news outlets reported the Village of Matteson had agreed with the court-appointed receiver on final demolition costs, with demolition projected to begin shortly after it received the judge's approval.[8][9] Demolition began May 8, 2017.[10] Demolition was completed by the end of summer 2017.

On November 7, 2017, it was announced that Target would be closing as part of a plan to close 12 stores nationwide. The store closed in February 2018.[11]

On March 4, 2018, Carson's abruptly closed its Lincoln Mall store, leaving JCPenney the only remaining tenant.[12] In November 2019, demolition of the former Carson's building commenced.[13] On January 30, 2020, The city of Matteson approved a casino on the mall site, proposed by South Suburban Development LLC.[14]

On July 31, 2020, JCPenney put 21 stores up for sale (including the Lincoln Mall location) as part of their bankruptcy.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "History of Matteson, Illinois". Archived from the original on 2005-12-12. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  2. ^ "lincolnweb.swf". Retrieved 2008-01-29.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Sears to leave Lincoln Mall". Chicago Sun-Times. 2012-05-15. Archived from the original on 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  4. ^ Shropshire, Corilyn; Grimm, Andy (2013-08-07). "Matteson sues to shut down Lincoln Mall". Chicago Tribune.
  5. ^ Tejeda, Gregory (12 November 2014). "Lincoln Mall to close after holidays". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Shocking Photos Show Inside Abandoned Lincoln Mall".
  7. ^ "Lincoln Mall Demo and Decor". 4 July 2017.
  8. ^ Koeske, Zak. "Demolition of Matteson's Lincoln Mall ordered". Daily Southtown. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  9. ^ admin (2017-03-17). "Demolition of Matteson's Lincoln Mall ordered". Reviews-and-news.com. Retrieved 2017-03-18.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Nolan, Mike. "Demolition of Matteson's Lincoln Mall gets underway". Daily Southtown. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  11. ^ "Target to close stores in Matteson, Romeoville in early February".
  12. ^ "Carson's location in Matteson abruptly closes". 5 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Carson's in Matteson is being demolished, removing last signs of once-thriving Lincoln Mall".
  14. ^ "Matteson casino group gets OK to make old Lincoln Mall site its new proposed location". 30 January 2020.
  15. ^ http://www.jcpenneyportfolio.com/uploads/1/3/2/3/132304625/jcpenney_-_phase_i-surplus_stores_for_sale.pdf

Lincoln Mall abandoned and Demolition Pictures https://www.flickr.com/photos/25165196@N08/albums/72157685915508996

External links[]

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