‘New, improved, evolved’: Revised plan would keep remainder of Hawthorn mall intact
The next step in a comprehensive transformation of the Hawthorn mall property in Vernon Hills aims to build on the success of initial work and keep what remains of the existing 1970s-era shopping center intact.
The revised concept would keep 130,000 square feet of existing space in the mall core that was to have been demolished in previous plans.
“This is what we consider to be new, improved, evolved and perhaps quite a bit better than what we were previously planning on,” said Sam Whitebread, vice president of development for mall owner Centennial Real Estate.
“It takes better advantage of the site itself and is a more efficient use when it comes to land planning,” Whitebread added Tuesday during a presentation to the village board.
Dallas-based Centennial has been going full speed ahead to reinvent the entire property since demolition of the former Sears anchor store started in January 2021. The former Carson’s anchor also was demolished.
Earlier plans envisioned tearing down a substantial portion of the rest of the mall to make way for the next wave of improvements in the ongoing $252 million redevelopment, known as Hawthorn 2.0.
In the latest revision to the second phase of that work, land layouts and building configurations are being modified and the number of upscale apartments and amount of retail space increased.
Those elements would be located along an extension of the Main Street-style Hawthorn Row on the former Sears site to connect directly to a traffic signal at Route 60 (Townline Road) just west of Route 21 (Milwaukee Avenue).
“One of the really important aspects to us about this design was the continuation of Hawthorn Row,” noted Courtney Brower, vice president of development for Focus, the company working with Centennial on the residential portion of the project.
Notable changes increase the number of apartments in Phase 2 from 249 to 282. Street-level retail spaces also would increase from 33,000 square feet to 45,000 square feet in the plan that relocates a mixed-use building to the southeast of the mall itself.
Hawthorn Row features a new Main Street-style entry to the mall proper and 313 luxury apartments known as The Domaine in four mixed-use buildings, which are 93% leased and occupied.
As in the previous plan, interior retail space in the mall proper will be opened to be outward facing and the plaza space to the east and south enhanced. Some elements including a terraced hillside and grand staircase already have been built.
Under the revised concept a central plaza originally planned west of The Domain would be slightly reduced in size with new plazas built at new retail corners and mall entrances.
“The landscape and the architecture really is going to play well here,” said Andy Czajkowski with SK+I Architecture.
“What has long been a parking lot is now going to have a lot of pocket green spaces that will be a true asset to the community,” he added.
Village officials gave an informal thumbs-up to the changes. The revised plan will move to a detailed staff review and a public hearing before coming back to the board for final approval.