West Golf Road and North Milwaukee Avenue
Village of Niles, Illinois
Greater Chicago's eighth shopping mall was constructed on 88 acres, located 22 miles northwest of The Loop, in suburban Niles. The open-air facility was built by John F. Cuneo, Senior, under the auspices of the Milwaukee-Golf Development Corporation. Ground was broken in November 1958.
The first nine stores in GOLF MILL CENTER opened for business on October 12, 1960. Included in this group was a 2-level (230,000 square foot) Sears, which divided the facility into North Mall and South Mall sections. Sears operated out of three buildings; the main store structure, a Garden Center and 23-bay Auto Center. There were also an optical department, Coffee House Cafe and Lyric Beauty Salon.
Inline stores in the North Mall included Lytton's, Walgreen Drug, Henry M. Goodman and a Hillman's supermarket. Some of the original South Mall tenants were Karroll's men's wear, Baker's Shoes, Richman Brothers men's wear, an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and National Food Stores supermarket.
A 1-level (50,000 square foot), Evanston-based Lord's department store opened, at the south end of the complex, on October 18, 1961. With its completion, the shopping hub encompassed approximately 650,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty-eight stores and services.
The Golf Mill Theatre was dedicated December 29, 1961. This single-screen venue was built as a southeastern outparcel of the mall. It morphed into the Golf Mill Theatres I & II, on December 25, 1969, and Golf Mill Theatres 1-2-3, in 1973. The movie house was shuttered in the year 2000. The Mill Run Playhouse, at the north end of the mall, had been dedicated on July 12, 1965. This 1,800 seat, revolving theater-in-the-round was a live performance venue. Another mall tenant at this time was the adjacent Millionaire's Club cocktail lounge.
By 1965, the Lord's store had closed. J.C. Penney renovated the vacant space, expanding it into a 2-level (184,700 square foot) structure. A freestanding Penney's Auto Center was also built. The new "Penneys" store opened October 20, 1966.
Regional shopping venues in the vicinity of GOLF MILL CENTER included OLD ORCHARD CENTER (1956) {4.3 miles east, in Skokie}, RANDHURST CENTER (1962) {5.2 miles northwest, in Mount Prospect}, WOODFIELD MALL (1971) {9 miles west, in Schaumburg} and NORTHBROOK COURT (1976) {6.6 miles northeast, in Northbrook}.
A 40 million dollar renovation of GOLF MILL CENTER commenced in August 1984. The North Mall structure was substantially reconfigured, with its vacant Mill Run Playhouse being demolished. A strip of stores was built across from the existing blocks, creating a mall concourse. This was anchored by a 2-level (70,000 square foot), Bannockburn, Illinois-based MainStreet, which opened in November 1985.
As the remodeling progressed, the entirety of the shopping hub was enclosed and climate-controlled. A vacant Woolworth space, in the South Mall, was sectioned into inline stores and an 18-bay Food Court built on the east side of the complex. A formal mall re-dedication was held on November 19, 1986. There were now over 150 stores and services. The MainStreet store was rebranded as a Wisconsin-based Kohl's in March 1989. The next GOLF MILL modification added a 1-level (103,000 square foot) Target. This store held its grand opening October 11, 1998.
A second mall movie house, the Kerasotes Showplace 12, showed its first features on November 17, 2006. An 8 million dollar mall remodeling project, underway at this time, included an exterior face lift, installation of new lighting, flooring and seating areas and a refurbishment of the Center Court and Main Entrance.
Moreover, a 1-level (40,400 square foot), Columbus, Ohio-based, Value City Furniture store replaced a northeast mall entrance and several adjacent store spaces. The renovation was completed in late 2007. GOLF MILL CENTER now spanned 1,067,000 leasable square feet.
More recent modifications at GOLF MILL CENTER involve rebranding of the Kerasotes multiplex, as the American Multi-Cinema Showplace Niles 12 (July 2010), opening of a freestanding Gordon Food Service Marketplace (April 2011) and completion of an in-mall (26,900 square foot) Ross Dress for Less (October 2012).
Ownership of the shopping hub changed in August 2014. The Cuneo Family, its original developers, sold the complex to Palm Beach Florida's Sterling Organization. Sears, which anchored the center of the mall for over 58 years, pulled up stakes in December 2018.
Village of Niles, Illinois
Greater Chicago's eighth shopping mall was constructed on 88 acres, located 22 miles northwest of The Loop, in suburban Niles. The open-air facility was built by John F. Cuneo, Senior, under the auspices of the Milwaukee-Golf Development Corporation. Ground was broken in November 1958.
The first nine stores in GOLF MILL CENTER opened for business on October 12, 1960. Included in this group was a 2-level (230,000 square foot) Sears, which divided the facility into North Mall and South Mall sections. Sears operated out of three buildings; the main store structure, a Garden Center and 23-bay Auto Center. There were also an optical department, Coffee House Cafe and Lyric Beauty Salon.
Inline stores in the North Mall included Lytton's, Walgreen Drug, Henry M. Goodman and a Hillman's supermarket. Some of the original South Mall tenants were Karroll's men's wear, Baker's Shoes, Richman Brothers men's wear, an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and National Food Stores supermarket.
A 1-level (50,000 square foot), Evanston-based Lord's department store opened, at the south end of the complex, on October 18, 1961. With its completion, the shopping hub encompassed approximately 650,000 leasable square feet and housed sixty-eight stores and services.
The Golf Mill Theatre was dedicated December 29, 1961. This single-screen venue was built as a southeastern outparcel of the mall. It morphed into the Golf Mill Theatres I & II, on December 25, 1969, and Golf Mill Theatres 1-2-3, in 1973. The movie house was shuttered in the year 2000. The Mill Run Playhouse, at the north end of the mall, had been dedicated on July 12, 1965. This 1,800 seat, revolving theater-in-the-round was a live performance venue. Another mall tenant at this time was the adjacent Millionaire's Club cocktail lounge.
By 1965, the Lord's store had closed. J.C. Penney renovated the vacant space, expanding it into a 2-level (184,700 square foot) structure. A freestanding Penney's Auto Center was also built. The new "Penneys" store opened October 20, 1966.
Regional shopping venues in the vicinity of GOLF MILL CENTER included OLD ORCHARD CENTER (1956) {4.3 miles east, in Skokie}, RANDHURST CENTER (1962) {5.2 miles northwest, in Mount Prospect}, WOODFIELD MALL (1971) {9 miles west, in Schaumburg} and NORTHBROOK COURT (1976) {6.6 miles northeast, in Northbrook}.
A 40 million dollar renovation of GOLF MILL CENTER commenced in August 1984. The North Mall structure was substantially reconfigured, with its vacant Mill Run Playhouse being demolished. A strip of stores was built across from the existing blocks, creating a mall concourse. This was anchored by a 2-level (70,000 square foot), Bannockburn, Illinois-based MainStreet, which opened in November 1985.
As the remodeling progressed, the entirety of the shopping hub was enclosed and climate-controlled. A vacant Woolworth space, in the South Mall, was sectioned into inline stores and an 18-bay Food Court built on the east side of the complex. A formal mall re-dedication was held on November 19, 1986. There were now over 150 stores and services. The MainStreet store was rebranded as a Wisconsin-based Kohl's in March 1989. The next GOLF MILL modification added a 1-level (103,000 square foot) Target. This store held its grand opening October 11, 1998.
A second mall movie house, the Kerasotes Showplace 12, showed its first features on November 17, 2006. An 8 million dollar mall remodeling project, underway at this time, included an exterior face lift, installation of new lighting, flooring and seating areas and a refurbishment of the Center Court and Main Entrance.
Moreover, a 1-level (40,400 square foot), Columbus, Ohio-based, Value City Furniture store replaced a northeast mall entrance and several adjacent store spaces. The renovation was completed in late 2007. GOLF MILL CENTER now spanned 1,067,000 leasable square feet.
More recent modifications at GOLF MILL CENTER involve rebranding of the Kerasotes multiplex, as the American Multi-Cinema Showplace Niles 12 (July 2010), opening of a freestanding Gordon Food Service Marketplace (April 2011) and completion of an in-mall (26,900 square foot) Ross Dress for Less (October 2012).
Ownership of the shopping hub changed in August 2014. The Cuneo Family, its original developers, sold the complex to Palm Beach Florida's Sterling Organization. Sears, which anchored the center of the mall for over 58 years, pulled up stakes in December 2018.
By this time, the GOLF MILL mall was in a downward spiral. The Sterling Organization announced plans for a massive redevelopment in January 2022. As part of this 2-phase -429 million dollar- project, the center would be returned to its original open-air format. During Phase I, an abandoned Sears would be demolished, along with the 9-story Professional Building. In all, 600,000 square feet would be razed.
A new GOLF MILL TOWN CENTER would cover approximately 600,200 leasable square feet. Existing J.C. Penney, Target, Burlington and Ross stores would be left standing. 194,000 square feet of new retail would be built. Completion of Phase I is plotted for some time in 2026. The Phase II project would then be started, which would add various residential and hospitality structures.
Sources:
The Chicago Tribune
"Niles Centennial History 1899-1999"
www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
http://www.labelscar.com
Cook County, Illinois tax assessor website
www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.chicagobusiness.com
https://www.journal-topics.com
https://www.sterlingorganization.com
"Golf Mill Shopping Center" article on Wikipedia
"Golf Mill Shopping Center" article on Wikipedia
