West Dundee begins exterior demolition of shuttered Spring Hill Mall
The walls that once made up Spring Hill Mall are coming down.
Exterior demolition work started Thursday on the shuttered suburban mall — marking the latest chapter in the beleaguered retail center’s history.
“It’s jarring to see the exterior come down,” West Dundee Village President Chris Nelson said. “It made me a bit sad. But I knew it was coming, and I knew it was necessary.
“We need to start new and start fresh,” he added. “This is a big step in that direction.”
In 2023, West Dundee began buying up portions of the mall, starting with the purchase of the shuttered Sears store for $2 million and the closed Macy’s store for $1.25 million. In another deal that closed in 2024, the village paid $7 million to buy the core of the mall and the former Carson Pirie Scott store.
The mall, which opened in 1980, closed in March of 2024.
Most of Spring Hill sits within West Dundee, but about 20% of the mall, including Kohl’s and the former Carson’s store — is in Carpentersville, making West Dundee landowners in both towns.
Earlier this month, Carpentersville officials approved purchasing the recently closed Kohl’s store — the last remaining portion of the mall that was up for sale — for $2 million.
West Dundee officials have said buying the mall was critical to reimagining the property into a mixed-use development featuring residential, retail and entertainment. A recent study indicated that the 70 acres of mall property inside the ring road and another 32 acres adjacent to it could support up to 1,500 residential units and 325,000 square feet of commercial use. The mall offered 1 million square feet of commercial space.
West Dundee officials hope to use part of the mall property for a new police station. Currently, the police and fire department share space at Public Safety Building 1, located off Route 31 near Strom Drive.
Noting the village has been working “at a pretty good pace” to pave the way for redevelopment of the mall property, West Dundee Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said he expects demolition work, which started on the village’s side of the mall, to be completed by November. The mall teardown is expected to cost $3.4 million.
The fate of the Kohl’s store remains uncertain.
“We are entertaining potential developer interest in the building remaining,” Carpentersville Village Manager Brad Stewart said, adding that the village would have to make a decision “in the near future.” “We also are contemplating the potential of having the building demolished if we do not see a viable use for it in the near future.”
Stewart said the village issued a permit for the portion of the mall inside its village limits this week to the contractor handling the mall’s demolition. The conditional permit leaves open whether the Kohl’s building will remain or be torn down.
West Dundee’s permit application to Carpentersville included plans to provide a weatherproof exterior wall where the interior entrance to the Kohl’s store is or a $450,000 credit to tear down the building, Cavallaro said.
In addition to demolition work, other projects indicate the pending change. West Dundee officials decommissioned the Spring Hill Mall name and have covered up signs. The village is also spending $1.3 million to repaint a water tower that bears the mall’s name. The repainted water tower will display the village’s name.
Additionally, the village has contracted with Chicago-based design firm Houseal-Lavigne Associates to develop a 3D conceptual model to help visualize the future of the mall property.