Randhurst to peddle bears and benches in last sale after close

If you had an eye on that pair of 6-foot-tall holiday bears at the Randhurst Shopping Center, or are in the market for a new wooden bench, the mall's last big sale is for you.

The main mall area closed this week as the owners of Randhurst in Mount Prospect began to convert the aging mall into a mix of open-air shops and businesses. The mall's major anchors, including Carson Pirie Scott and Costco, will remain open, but the smaller specialty shops have vacated.

The mall's closing left behind some items that will be sold sometime in the next two weeks at a date still to be set. The mall is planning the sale for the second or third week in October. It'll likely be a two-day sale on a Friday and Saturday in the former Steve & Barry's store, which closed down earlier this year.

One of the hottest items likely will be twin bears that were hauled out for holiday displays. Some avid shoppers have already called about those bears, so they are likely to go quick, said Lisa Blaszinski, mall director.

If bears don't piqué your interest, there's an assortment of stuffed bunnies and snowman figures that graced various Easter and Christmas displays down through the years.

Then, there's a variety of benches, plants and tools that the mall no longer needs, she said.

What will not be on sale is the Venetian carousel that the mall bought in 2005. A California shopping center purchased it recently and will be disassembling, packing and shipping it to its new location, she said.

All the money the mall collects will be donated to local charities, she said.

You can check the mall's Web site for exact times and dates of the sale at www.randhurstmall.com.

Developers plan to gut the main mall, but keep major tenants that are attached to it and ones that are on the perimeter roads. The redevelopment plan calls for a number of restaurants, a hotel and 25 smaller buildings to be scattered around the site. The AMC Theatres would be relocated. The plan allows for rental dwelling units to be built some time in the future if the developer chooses.