Yorktown Center unveils The Square and new apartments steps from the mall

A trip to one of the original suburban malls could start with a wood-fired pizza or a small plate of shrimp and polenta, followed by some shopping and then a stroll in a new park.

“Where you refresh your style,” reads one of the mall’s signs. Yorktown Center has been doing that and then some.

In place of the former Carson’s department store is The Square, a new outdoor gathering space made up of park vignettes. There’s a stage area for entertainment. Orange and green Adirondack-style chairs tie in with bold geometric murals. A wide promenade starts near a new apartment complex and leads to a new mall entrance — an expanse of glass — as part of the evolution of Yorktown into a “live-work-play” campus.

“The center court was always quite big, and it’s attractive, but it never had any natural light in it. But now to have a whole wall of glass has really transformed that,” said Steve Plenge, CEO of Pacific Retail Capital Partners, the owner of the core mall property in Lombard. “And it’s really enabling us to look at a whole different lineup of retailers to come in.”

Synergy Construction & Development has been a partner in that transformation, building 276 high-end apartments in the parking lot of the old Carson’s. Yorktown Reserve just opened this month, and 50% of the units — the first phase of construction — are leased, with 71 units already occupied.

“So it’s phenomenally successful,” said Phil Domenico, one of Synergy’s owners.

There’s been a steady wave of residential development around Yorktown and other indoor malls. D.R. Horton has built dozens of townhouses along Yorktown’s ring road. The Overture apartments cater to the 55-and-older set. Developer Greystar also built the Elan apartment complex.

“We think there’s potentially even more housing that we could add to the site over time, and this is indicative of what we’re trying to do as a company across the U.S.,” Plenge said.

More residential

Yorktown Center first opened in 1968.

“Back in the day, it was very common to have three, 400,000 square feet of in-line shop space, and 70 to 80% of that was apparel. Now that no longer is the case,” Plenge said.

There’s a broader diversity now in the mall lineup, with entertainment, food and beverage, and health and wellness options.

“We’ve got a lot of restaurants that we’re talking to right now that will be facing the park,” Plenge said.

The Square adds greenery and pops of color where the vacant Carson’s store stood.

“Interest is good on the outlots, and interest is good at the mall there, too, with all those new retail opportunities that we opened up by getting that big box out of the way,” Domenico said.

The apartment developer built Yorktown Reserve with a long list of on-site amenities: a pool, pickleball court, gym, sauna, media room, dog wash and grooming stations — the mall is dog-friendly, too — and a do-it-yourself room, to name a few.

“Inside the units are solid surface back splashes, under-cabinet lighting, nine-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, the solid core doors, and in-unit washer and dryer,” Domenico said. “Things that used to be in very expensive condos are now in the apartments.”

And then there are what Domenico calls the “external amenities.” Gia Mia, a Neopolitan-style pizzeria, the Empire burger spot, and Dave & Buster’s have opened at Yorktown in recent years. Another new addition, Uzumaki Revolving Sushi, is coming to Yorktown, a “super cool date night, high-end concept,” said Gayle Gleespen, Yorktown’s marketing and business development manager.

“The retailers just eat this up because the demographic that typically lives in apartments, they go out to eat a lot. They go out, and they shop,” Domenico said.

In other words, the partnership between the developer and the mall is symbiotic.

“We have a couple other exciting uses that are going to come in that will also help generate further demand,” Plenge said. “So all those pieces are not lost on tenants that are looking to come into the market.”

Lombard officials approved the apartment plans in 2023.

“Having a progressive city that can help vision and help be a partner on this sort of development is amazing,” Plenge said.

New mall entrance

Pacific Retail has an in-house design team of ex-Gensler people that worked with the village and Synergy in creating a “community-focused” park linking up the apartments with the mall, Plenge said.

“I think with the way that we’re transforming this campus by introducing residential, there really is a need for more flexible outdoor space, the convenience of being able to walk outside of your door, have this park-like amenity,” Gleespen said.

As for programming, the mall team has talked about using the The Square to host pop-up picnics, food trucks and family-friendly entertainment, Gleespen said. There’s also a children’s playground.

“Now,” Domenico said, “it’s truly the main entrance.”