Preliminary concept plans for a new Golf Mill in Niles — minus the iconic office tower and much of the indoor mall — were shared with members of the Niles business community during the mayor’s annual State of the Village address.
“There’s been a lot of talk about it and we’ve held things close to our chest until we could get the right components going,” Mayor George Alpogianis said as renderings for the shopping center were revealed publicly for the first time during the Niles Chamber of Commerce Leadership Luncheon on Jan. 27.
The plans, though still preliminary, call for turning much of the mall back into an outdoor center, with existing anchor stores like Target, JC Penney, Burlington, Ross and Ulta remaining.
The white office tower with its neon red Golf Mill sign will be removed under the plan, Alpogianis said, though the sign itself will be preserved and displayed elsewhere on the property.
“High-end” apartment buildings containing approximately 300 units are also proposed, as are new outlot buildings for restaurants and outdoor shopping, an outdoor movie screen, and water features, including a pavilion with a reproduction of the original water wheel that was once part of the original, open-air shopping center built in 1960.
This water wheel will “bring back some of that nostalgia” of Golf Mill’s earlier days, Alpogianis said.
“People remember Golf Mill for that wheel,” he said. “It’s a pretty big deal, so that is something we were adamant about during our beginning meetings.”
What happened to the original mill wheel is not known, the mayor said.
Alpogianis stressed that the drawings are “all conceptual right now, but we are getting closer and closer as we speak.”
Sterling Organization, the company that owns Golf Mill, is looking to break ground on a portion of the project this year, Alpogianis said.
John Melaniphy, director of economic development for the village, referred to the future redevelopment of Golf Mill as “the most exciting development in the village in years.”
“I think the Golf Mill Mall redevelopment is going to redefine the village,” he said. “The current concept site plan envisions new retail and restaurant facilities, public gathering spaces, water features, attractive landscaping, a pedestrian promenade, Golf Mill Park across the property, the new water mill and a total mixed-use environment.”
– Original Credit: Village of Niles
Work to redevelop Golf Mill Park, which is a joint project between the village and the Niles Park District, will continue this year, with the primary components expected to be complete this fall, Alpogianis said.
The park project will include open space for festivals, a soccer field, tennis, pickleball and half-basketball courts, a splash pad, playground, picnic grove and walking path, according to plans revealed in 2020.
Melaniphy predicts that updating Golf Mill will “enhance the entire Milwaukee, Greenwood and Golf commercial corridors.” Areas near the mall have already seen new businesses opening in anticipation of the future development, he said.
But before much of any development at Golf Mill can occur, the village and the mall owners will need to approve a redevelopment agreement outlining the financial contributions and incentives that the village will provide to the project.
These incentives could come from Tax Increment Financing Revenues that are generated from the TIF district that was created by the village in 2018.
The process of creating the agreement could take time and would take into account the developer’s costs and financial gaps, Melaniphy said.
Golf Mill was built as an outdoor shopping center, but was enclosed in the 1980s. In recent years, a number of national chain stores left the mall and fewer and fewer shops remained open.
– Original Credit: Village of Niles