Rosemont’s upscale outlet mall to open Aug. 1

Luxury retailers, including Barneys, Tory Burch, Prada and Halston, and other top brands are coming to Rosemont’s outlet mall opening Aug. 1.

The developers of Fashion Outlets of Chicago Monday released the names of more than 120 stores that will be housed in the 530,000-square-foot, two-story, enclosed mall just south of the Balmoral Avenue exit off the Tri-State Tollway.

Anchor stores include Bloomingdale’s The Outlet Store, Last Call by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th and Forever 21.

Two fine-dining restaurants — Prasino and Villagio — also are set to open inside the mall, along with a food court and other quick-service eateries.

Unlike most regional outlet malls, Fashion Outlets of Chicago will rely heavily on the roughly 76 million travelers coming through O’Hare International Airport for its core customer base, said Arthur Weiner, chairman of AWE Talisman. The company is developing and managing the mall along with Macerich, a leading regional mall owner, operator and developer.

“It’s not a regional mall. It’s a global draw,” Weiner said.

The proximity of Rosemont to O’Hare was a huge selling point for the developer to build there in partnership with the village, he added.

The mall will offer regular shuttle service to/from O’Hare airport and downtown hotels, and an on-site, TSA-certified concierge allows travelers to print boarding passes and check-in shopping bags and luggage for departing flights.

“It is the number one point of entry into the United States for the Asian community, which is a powerful ingredient for outlet shopping,” Weiner said. “They are tremendous consumers, and they love outlet shopping.”

Weiner said many tours that originate in the Far East choose where to vacation based on the proximity to outlet shopping.

“The significance of Chicago is that it is global,” Weiner said. “There is no other mall like this in the United States.”

At full-capacity, the mall will house roughly 140 stores. A village-owned, enclosed parking garage with about 2,840 spaces will be deeded over to the developer at the expiration of the area’s tax increment financing district in 2034.

Weiner said with the attached garage, the farthest shoppers will have to walk to access stores is 75 feet from their parked car.

“We feel like we are creating an environment that people will go to regularly ... embrace it as their community,” Weiner said. “Fashion Outlets of Chicago also will offer an exciting set of customer amenities and social experiences, including a world-class art installation.”

The long-anticipated mall’s opening will be followed by the completion of other projects in the village, Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens said.

Relocation of the Big Ten Conference’s headquarters to a three-story office building under construction next to the Aloft hotel, just south of Rosemont’s MB Financial Park at Rosemont entertainment district, should happen sometime in September, Stephens said.

The 50,000-square-foot building will house the Big Ten Conference center, an interactive museum, and a Fogo de Chao Brazilian steakhouse, also opening this fall.