JCPenney to open a new store to replace its Ford City location

JCPenney plans to open a new store in the next few months to replace its longtime home in Chicago’s Ford City Mall, according to a company spokesperson.

The vast indoor mall at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. was shuttered in June by a county judge due to unsafe conditions and a malfunctioning fire suppression system, ending its 60-year reign as the area’s leading retail destination.

The department store chain’s new location will be at 8148 S. Cicero Ave. in suburban Burbank, about a half-mile south of the closed mall.

“JCPenney has a large and loyal customer base in the Chicago area, and we look forward to continuing to serve them,” the spokesperson said.

JCPenney’s new location is a 39,000-square-foot building, most recently used by a Dave’s Furniture & Mattress Outlet, according to CoStar. JCPenney occupied about 180,000 square feet in Ford City.

It’s not surprising the company would choose to shrink its footprint, said Terri Cox, senior vice president of Matanky Realty Group. Many retailers are ditching massive stores in favor smaller locations, putting the best-selling products on the shelves, selling others online and keeping much of their inventory in storage.

“The rent on a warehouse is a lot less than the rent for a huge shopping center,” she said.

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JCPenney has 14 other locations across the Chicago region. It was an anchor tenant at Ford City after the 1.2 million-square-foot complex, a manufacturing site for bombers during World War II, reopened as a shopping center in 1965.

Ford City had more than 100 stores during its heyday, but the rise of online retail left long stretches of its interior entirely vacant. New York-based Namdar Realty Group, an investor known for buying up distressed retail, bought it for about $16 million in 2019.

Chicago officials eventually filed a lawsuit against the owner, alleging Ford City Mall was plagued by water leaks, open wiring, dirty conditions and poor lighting. Early this year the city asked Cook County Judge Leonard Murray to permanently shut the property.

JCPenney fought back throughout the spring, telling Murray that its Ford City store was in good condition and remained popular with Southwest Side residents.

Murray allowed JCPenney and a few other stores to operate for a few months, but ultimately sided with the city, ordering Namdar to close the mall by June 22.

The Chicago Plan Commission in August approved a plan to demolish the mall, and replace it with a collection of warehouses and distribution buildings. Many nearby residents claim new warehouses will bring diesel-belching trucks to the neighborhood, and oppose the $200 million proposal. The project still needs City Council approval.

The loss of Ford City Mall doesn’t mean the local retail sector is in steep decline, Cox said. Massive indoor malls like Ford City are expensive to heat and cool, so many have struggled or shut down, but retailers still operate successfully at smaller, open-air centers, she said.

A select group of indoor malls, including Schaumburg’s Woodfield Mall, where JCPenney is an anchor tenant, and Chicago Ridge Mall in southwest suburban Chicago Ridge, have learned how to thrive, she added.

Owners transformed these malls into public gathering spots, rather than simple shopping destinations, by recruiting more restaurants and other experiential retail, and hosting community events.

“The economy changes, peoples’ shopping habits change, so you have to change with them if you want to stay ahead of the game,” Cox said.

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