The RoomPlace coming to fill old TJ Maxx at Gurnee Mills
Gurnee Mills announced Thursday morning that furniture store The RoomPlace will fill the vacant anchor storefront last occupied by TJ Maxx more than a year ago.
The Lombard-based furniture store will open late this summer in the 45,000-square-foot space on the northwest side of the mall, just north of Marcus Gurnee Cinema.
Coupled with the May 25 grand opening of Dick's Sporting Goods - filling the space previously occupied by The Sports Authority - it appeared the news meant all the anchor stores at Gurnee Mills would be occupied once again.
But on Thursday, Sears announced it will close another 72 stores, including its anchor store at Gurnee Mills.
Randy Ebertowski, the mall's general manager, said the Sears news did not come as a shock and added that Simon, the company that runs Gurnee Mills, had already done some preliminary work in search of a possible replacement.
"Simon has done a phenomenal job at taking former anchor stores and making them something unique, new and exciting," Ebertowski said. "And that's what will happen here."
Ebertowski didn't elaborate on what shoppers can expect but said they are optimistic about the future of that space.
All the news regarding the mall's anchor stores comes while Gurnee Mills is undergoing an extensive $6 million renovation. Ebertowski said the work is around 80 percent done, and he estimated the project would be completed in a month.
Much of the painting, skylight replacement and new floor installation is done, he said. Starting in early June, crews will replace all the furniture in the food court.
"If someone hasn't been here since the holidays, they aren't going to recognize it," Ebertowski said.
Considering the amount of negotiation, planning and design that needed to happen, Ebertowski said he feels the vacant TJ Maxx and Sports Authority spaces were filled relatively quickly.
In February 2017, the Gurnee village board agreed to give the mall $1 million in public money to help with the $6 million renovations as they reeled in new tenants for both vacant anchor spaces.
By July 2017, one of the prospective tenants, the name of which wasn't ever released, had dropped out. So mall officials asked the village to alter the plan so they weren't required to fill both vacant anchor stores, a deal the village board accepted.
Jack Linehan, the assistant to the village administrator, said Thursday that to date the village has provided the first of four $250,000 payments.