Who Owns Fashion Oulets of Chicago
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Outlet Mall With Fashion Ambition Rises Near Chicago
ROSEMONT, Ill. — A new outlet mall under construction here — the first enclosed mall to be built in the Chicago expanse in over a decade — is both a departure for the outlet industry and a major new attraction for this close-in Chicago suburb long known as a convention and business hub.
The $250 one thousand thousand mall, Fashion Outlets of Chicago, is scheduled to open this summer. The two-level, 530,000-square-foot center is being co-adult by AWE Talisman, a Florida-based company that besides owns outlet centers in Las Vegas and Santa Fe, N.M., and the Macerich Company of Santa Monica, Calif.
"The project is a game changer on several levels," said Arthur Weiner, chairman of AWE Talisman. "We're in a prized area with a higher level of structure and amenities than you would normally see at an outlet center. We also have a pretty adept shop list."
The mall, which is ninety percent leased, is focused on luxury retailers like Saks 5th Artery's Off 5th, Last Phone call by Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale'south the Outlet Store and Barneys New York.
In addition, there are outlets by top fashion names like Prada, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Tory Burch and Michael Kors.
The developer and the retailers promise to shake upward Chicago's retail scene with the new mall.
To date, outlet stores have non been very prominent in the Chicago area, with the nearest outlet middle — Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora, Ill. — about xl miles from downtown Chicago. But Rosemont is a closer suburb and only 20 minutes from Chicago's Michigan Avenue, where all of the in a higher place stores have thriving full-price locations.
Arnie Orlick, senior vice president of outlets for Bloomingdale's, said that the mall's focus on luxury — one of the fastest-growing segments of the outlet market — bodes well for the project.
"When all of these retailers go into a mall," he said, "you know they're going to attract many more customers than a traditional outlet center."
Neil Stern, senior partner with McMillanDoolittle, a Chicago-based retail consulting firm, said that the mall reflected a shift in the outlet business. "There used to be a clear divide between outlets and regular retail, but that doesn't really exist anymore," he said. "Today we're seeing outlets that are almost the equivalent of total-line stores."
Specifically, outlets used to be places where retailers and manufacturers tending of closeout and past-flavor goods. Today, however, they tend to be dissever divisions within their companies and tend to have their own supply chains and customer bases.
"It'due south the aforementioned brands and labels just they've engineered the procedure to get the price points more than in line with the outlet environs," said Mr. Stern.
Robert Wallstrom, president of Saks'south Off 5th outlet partition, said that Off 5th was merchandised for a different customer than Saks's regular stores.
"There's some crossover betwixt the full-price and off-price customers, but information technology'south only most ten pct," he said. "What we're trying to create is a luxury value department store."
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The location is besides a divergence. In the past, outlet centers were oft bare-bones diplomacy located far from major population centers. Fashion Outlets, yet, is a quick drive from downtown Chicago.
"We're excited about it," said Wayne A. Hussey, senior vice president of backdrop and store development at Neiman Marcus. "Rosemont is an amazing area in terms of the critical mass of hotels and restaurants and information technology's very shut to the airport as well."
That last comment is something of an understatement. Rosemont is not but shut to O'Hare International Airport. It'southward literally side by side door.
This proximity was one of the master drivers of the project, co-ordinate to Mr. Weiner, of AWE Talisman. "Outlet shopping is fueled past tourism," he said. "Visitors can be 50 pct or more of the business."
Mr. Weiner said the mall would offer inducements for travelers. In addition to shuttle service to and from the airport, the centre will also provide early on check-in and luggage handing services — for a fee. "Our goal is to have more Way Outlet buses than Hertz buses circling O'Hare," he said.
A major contributor to the mall is the village of Rosemont, which awarded the projection most $50 meg in grants and tax breaks.
It also carve up with the State of Illinois's Price Highway Authority the price of a new $15 meg off-ramp to the Tri-Land Tollway that curves around the dorsum of the mall.
Rosemont is one of the more unusual municipalities in the Chicago expanse. Wedged between the airport and a wood preserve and bisected past a dense web of expressways, it's an island of commerce surrounded by older bedroom communities.
In addition to the 840,000-foursquare-foot Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and the 18,500-seat Allstate Arena, the two-and-a-half-foursquare-mile hamlet has 5,501 hotel rooms. Although only iv,200 people actually live in Rosemont, the average daytime population approaches 50,000 people.
"Rosemont is hotels, restaurants and convention centers," said Rebecca Hendrick, an associate professor of public assistants at the Academy of Illinois at Chicago, and the author of "Managing the Fiscal City," a book that examines the politics and finances of various Chicago suburban communities. "It exists primarily to provide services to people coming into O'Hare airport."
The village is besides unusual in that it has had only 2 mayors in its 57-year history. The first was Donald Eastward. Stephens, who founded the village in 1956 and served as mayor until his decease in 2007.
The second and current mayor is his son, Bradley A. Stephens. Before this month, the younger Mr. Stephens ran unopposed for a second four-year term.
Several years ago, after trying and failing to secure a casino license, the village financed the structure of MB Financial Park, a new 120,000-square-human foot open up-air entertainment commune that includes restaurants, bars, a multiplex movie theater and a bowling alley every bit well every bit a winter skating rink.
The park, which price $50 1000000 and opened concluding twelvemonth, is across Balmoral Artery from the mall.
Mr. Stephens said the mall would "augment" the entertainment district and that the village planned to build a walkway to connect the two projects. The mall, he added, will serve as the village'southward main shopping area equally well every bit "a nice little cash generator for the village's full general fund."
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