New Vision For Northbrook Court Discussed At Village Board Meeting

NORTHBROOK, IL — Four years ago, the Northbrook Village Board signed off on a $250 million redevelopment plan for Northbrook Court, which included $27 million in incentives to the mall's owner, Brookfield Property Partners. Unfortunately for those hoping to see major improvements at the struggling mall, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed these plans to a halt.

Fast-forward to the present, and the Chicago-based developer was able to update the board on the future plans at 1515 Lake Cook Road at Tuesday night's Village Board meeting. After Village President Kathryn L. Ciesla stressed that the presentation was not a preliminary zoning application and that board members would not vote or take any action at the meeting, a representative from Brookfield did talk about Northbrook Court. Brookfield has owned the property since 1995.

"My goal tonight is to give you more clarity on what's ahead by walking you through our collective vision," Ben Freeman, senior vice president of development/commercial with Brookfield Properties, said. "Ultimately, our goal is to create a dynamic, thriving asset with best-in-class retail and restaurants set among the fabric of multi-generational neighborhoods."

Freeman said the cost of the updated project is still being discussed and determined, but admitted it will be more than the original estimate of $250 million. He did say it would generally be in the same proportion of the public/private ratio negotiated in 2019.

Freeman said after consulting with a number of new partners and updating its original plans for the site, Brookfield is hoping to roll out a "phased approach" to the redevelopment. The initial focus would be on creating an open-air retail and restaurant destination along Lake Cook Road, adjacent to Neiman Marcus, in the upper northeast quadrant of the site. It would also include building a residential mixed-use neighborhood in place of the former Macy's.

"What we envision is a relaxed, sophisticated outdoor pedestrian-oriented experience with room for over 30 shops and restaurants with the potential for a tenant mix that results in significant sales profile despite its smaller scale," said Freeman, who worked on redeveloping the Oakbrook Center for Brookfield, the second-largest shopping center in the Chicago metropolitan area.

RELATED: Northbrook Court Redevelopment Gets Final Approval From Village

Northbrook Court, which opened in 1976, currently sits on 100 acres of land. Freeman noted that while the mall anchor tenants have changed over the years, the interior mall structure, with its 350,000 square feet of specialty small shop space, remains "largely unchanged." This also includes more than 4,500 surface parking stalls outside the mall.

"What has changed since 1976 is mostly everything else," said Freeman, who mentioned the razing of the former Macy's store being among the biggest. "Most relevant this evening is retailers generally need fewer locations, and many want more optimally sized spaces than they did 47 years ago."

With regard to the western portion of the site, Freeman discussed Brookfield's plan to build a residential mixed-use neighborhood. He said the developer sees an opportunity to incorporate a variety of housing types into the area, including apartments, condominiums, 55-plus community, rentals and townhouses for an upward of potentially 2,000 homes implemented over the course of 10 years or more.

"Mixed-use developments can produce synergies between residential and retail components, leading to increased economic viability, community and vibrancy," said Freeman, who added that Brookfield plans to hold a series of open houses for residents and community members regarding the site.

The redevelopment plan for Northbrook Court in 2019 included a five-story apartment building with up to 315 rental units, more than 100,000 square feet of new residential space and a 70,000-square-foot grocery store.

In the meeting's agenda packet for Tuesday night's meeting, the Village described Northbrook Court as a "key property taxpayer and sales tax generator." Ciesla called it the Village's largest sales tax generator, adding that if Northbrook Court disappeared, it would be a "hardship" for Northbrook.

"In the past decade, foot traffic has declined (consistent with mall properties across the country) and the presence of online shopping choices, fueled by the pandemic, must also be recognized as a contributing factor to the changing landscape of anchor stores and tenants at Northbrook Court," the agenda reads.

Sales tax collections have been reduced, with the most recent data showing the Village receiving a total of $3.8 million in 2017 and $2.9 million in 2021. The Village said it expects to report 2022 sales tax collections in May.

"It is important we do everything in our power to help Northbrook Court be reimagined for the next 50 years," said Ciesla, who added that 93 percent of sales at Northbrook Court are generated by people coming from outside of Northbrook.

Northbrook Village Manager Cara Pavlicek said the next step in the process would be the Village Board potentially adopting a non-binding pre-development agreement between Brookfield and Northbrook.