RMHS grad is the man who will save Randhurst

When the Randhurst Shopping Center in Mount Prospect begins its transformation into a lifestyle center next year, Jim Conroy will be at the helm.

Raised in Arlington Heights and now living in Hoffman Estates, Conroy was recently hired by Randhurst as director of development.

"I'll be the quarterback for Randhurst Village," Conroy said.

The mall, with 80 inside stores, will be gutted next summer, leaving major retail anchors. The mall's massive basement will become an underground parking lot, while a floor of retail and multiple stories of upscale apartments will be added.

For the last two months, Conroy, a trained architect and real estate broker with extensive experience overseeing local retail projects, has been paging through conceptual plans as the time to overhaul the mall draws closer.

He'll be responsible for Randhurst Village's initial site plans, budgeting and securing municipal zoning approvals and permits.

Particularly challenging will be the mall's massive basement.

Built more than 45 years ago, the basement was originally designed as a fallout shelter for the citizens of Mount Prospect, he said.

But it now stands as an architectural obstacle as it must be refitted to support multiple stories above it, which it can't now accommodate, he said.

But in the end, the project will be worth overcoming the complications, Conroy said.

Randhurst is a great location for limited retail and apartments, but it's not conducive to the mega-mall that it is now, he said.

Compared to Woodfield Shopping Center in Schaumburg, Randhurst has a major disadvantage. Woodfield, located near major expressways Route 53 and I-290, has substantially more traffic volume, which is usually critical for retail markets.

"That kind of volume makes Woodfield a grand slam and that is why Woodfield prospered and Randhurst became what I consider an in-between market," Conroy said.

Conroy, a Rolling Meadows High School graduate, has overseen many local retail projects, including the overhaul of the Harlem-Irving Plaza in Norridge where a Target store and a parking deck were added to the existing mall.

He said part of the reason he wanted to take on his current project was because he knows the area very well.

"I remember coming here (to Randhurst) as a kid since I lived three to four miles away," Conroy said. "It's cool to be involved in something like this."