Westfield Old Orchard Ownership Reveals Contractor For Plan To Build 400 Luxury Apartment

SKOKIE, IL — The owners of Westfield Old Orchard announced its local partner for the first phase of the mall's $100 million redevelopment. Chicago-based Focus will be the general contractor and codeveloper with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield to construct about 400 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space.

The project is expected to break ground in 2025 and be open for renters in early 2027, according to representatives of Paris-based URW, who promised more detailed plans for the development would be revealed later this year.

The shuttered Bloomingdale's store at the northwest corner of Old Orchard will be demolished to add the new studio to three-bedroom apartments in a building with a pool, lounge, gym and pet area. The plan calls for a new park and event space to serve as the focal point of the shopping center and a location to hold concerts, farmer's markets, festivals and other events.

Codeveloper Focus has experience adding luxury apartments to malls in the area. In a public-private partnership with Vernon Hills, Focus added more than 300 apartments to the east side of Hawthorne Mall. And it is currently in the second phase of its 600-unit redevelopment of Fox Valley Mall in Aurora.

“We are thrilled to be partnered with URW on the transformation of Old Orchard. As a Chicago-based company many of our team members, myself included, have a long history at Old Orchard and personally understand the vital role it plays in the community," Focus CEO and Founder Tim Anderson said in a statement.

Some of the developer's other North Shore projects include Kelmscott Park in Lake Forest, 2000 Green Bay Road in Highland Park, 812 Oak St. in Winnetka, and Sherman Plaza, Church Street station, 1640 Maple Ave., and The Link, 811 Emerson, in Evanston.

"We look forward to working with Focus, a premier developer in Chicagoland, to further enhance one of the most desirable destinations on the North Shore," said Geoff Mason, URW's executive vice president for design and operating management of U.S. developments.

"Focus’ local market knowledge, commitment to sustainability and DE&I initiatives, and shared vision for the future of Old Orchard make them an ideal partner to help curate what will be the preeminent mixed-use destination for residents, workers, and the wider community," Mason added. "Together, we’ll create what will become the residential, commercial, and cultural heart of Skokie.”

The next phase of the redevelopment will pursue a LEED Gold sustainability rating and "incorporate renewable energy, natural materials, biophilic design, and biodiversity," according to URW representatives.

“We share in a vision with URW for a more sustainable and dynamic future for the Old Orchard center," Anderson said. "Through thoughtful design and careful consideration of the needs of the community, we plan to create an authentic live, work, play experience for the community of Skokie.”

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URW has also been adding to Old Orchard's former Lord & Taylor space, with leases to home furnishings brand Arhaus, mini-golf restaurant Puttshack and clothing company ZARA.

URW and Focus are partnering to find outside financing to pay for the apartment phase of the project. Anderson told Crain's Chicago Business that the mall landlord had success attracting capital for previous mall redevelopment projects.

URW executives first publicly unveiled their plans to add residential units to the mall in December 2022, announcing they hoped to gain village approval for the first phase of redevelopment by the end of 2023.

That came nine months after the Skokie Village Board declared Westfield Old Orchard a "blighted area" as it signed off on a redevelopment agreement and the creation of a new business district.

The deal increased sales tax at the mall by 1 percent, with that money to be set aside to reimburse the mall landlord for $84 million in redevelopment costs.

Last year, the village board agreed to loan $4.5 million to the developer of a stalled downtown Skokie Hilton, on top of $13.5 million in tax increment financing it had already granted the developer.

Discussions over that bailout loan resulted in an opinion by the Illinois Attorney General's Office that the board violated the Open Meetings Act in its closed-door discussion, which village officials at the time had claimed was to discuss the "purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body."

An assistant attorney general directed village officials to release minutes and audio on Jan. 18, and on Feb. 5, the village board voted unanimously to place a resolution releasing the minutes on its Feb. 20 agenda.