Case Study: Northbrook Court, Northbrook, IL

Recently, I was up at Northbrook Court.

What is Northbrook Court, you might ask? It's a shopping center located about 25 miles north of Chicago, in the village of Northbrook. It also happens to be a rather upscale shopping center, and given that it just happens to be owned by General Growth Properties, which just so happens to be building a rather upscale shopping center that just happens to be in MetroWest.

In any case, Northbrook Court has a somewhat interesting history: basically, it wasn't supposed to be here. In 1976, a developer proposed building 2,300 apartments on a large piece of unincorporated land near Northbrook, IL. Northbrook didn't want the apartments to be built, but the village didn't really have a say as the land was unincorporated. As the developer faced a long court battle over the apartments, he proposed to build a shopping center with a small residential complex. That time, Northbrook agreed. Although the mall would be built, the neighboring village of Highland Park ended up suing the state of Illinois: first for a share of the mall's tax revenue; then later over the annexation going to Northbrook. Both suits failed.

Initially, the mall had a fairly stale batch of retailers: A lackluster Sears was one of the mall's first anchor stores which would replaced in 1983 by the equally downmarket J.C. Penney. Together with the slightly-more upscale I.Magnin flagshipped the mall that shouldn't have been built. At one point, two of the mall's four anchors were vacant. Like with the Natick Mall, it was located in a financially-attractive area, but shoppers were instead several miles away to the Old Orchard Mall in Skokie (or in Natick's case, The Mall at Chestnut Hill in Newton). The mall got some moderate national attention in the mid-1980s, where the mall was used for several scenes in the movie "Weird Science".

Eventually, the mall was able to snag Lord & Taylor as a tenant, along with a Neiman Marcus that refused to stay open on weeknights. Yet while the Neiman Marcus was fairly successful with its unique schedule, Neiman's shoppers rarely entered the mall corridor. In 1995, the mall was entirely renovated, and filled the vacant J.C. Penney site with a the last full-service Marshall Field's store to ever open (not unlike Natick, with the last Jordan Marsh store to open), and in 1997, Northbrook Court added a 14-screen General Cinema movie theater on the site of the I.Magnin (which had been vacant for three years before any plans were pitched). The mall also served as a testing ground for the GapBody chain in 1998, and had been a testing ground for the forgettable "Gap Shoes" chain in 1992.

In 1998, General Growth acquired Northbrook Court from the Canadian developer Grosvenor, which was around the same time that the company acquired the Natick Mall. Slowly, changes were made: General Growth worked to find different tenants than the ones at Old Orchard. By 2000, many changes were on the way. Upscale Italian restaurant Bice opened a location at the Court. In 2001, Crate and Barrel opened a massive, 36,000 sq. ft. flagship store on a mall outlot. In 2002, the mall announced plans to add more restaurants, high-end boutiques, and children's stores, while that same year opening the first Land of Nod store. In 2003, a 500-million dollar renovation brought a children's area to the mall.Yet in 2005, the mall manager noted in an interview that the mall wasn't doing well as too many of the mall's tenants targetted children. Also in 2005, the upscale Di Pescara and food court-fodder Magic Pan opened as part of an agreement with local restauranteer Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.

So, what can we learn about upscale malls for Natick? For one, the MetroWest area doesn't have an upscale mall like Old Orchard in such proximity. The Newton malls may have more upscale stores than Natick, but access to the Atrium Mall and The Mall at Chestnut Hill, both on Rt. 9, isn't all that easy: meanwhile, Old Orchard is a gigantic mall, located directly off a major interstate. And Natick can expect some issues getting that target customer in unless it is planned right. Right now, Northbrook is looking toward restaurants and upscale stores to get the customers in; that's exactly what GGP is planning for Natick. Should it be executed successfully like Tyson's Galleria outside of Washington, D.C.; we'll have a giant success. The affluent area demographic is there for the Natick Mall, and the retailers all want in. If GGP gets the right tenants in on the first shot, which I am optimistic that they will, we won't have a Northbrook on our hands.

No Black Allowed

A story in the Boston Herald recently questioned why Abercrombie & Fitch fails to carry any items in their store in black.

Quite frankly, who came up with this story? (and it's not an AP story, which would be a bit more credible if they published something similar). Anyone could probably figure that they want to carry more colorful material in their stores that is more apt to attract the buyer. But really, does anyone care whether they carry that color or not? Would you go into a store with the intent to buy solely a black shirt?

Luckily, the article redeems itself to show the somewhat airheaded managers of Abercrombie stores across the state.

• At Northshore Mall, Peabody: “I don’t know why, I just know we don’t sell anything black.”
• At Solomon Pond Mall, Marlborough: "It's just a company thing."
• At South Shore Plaza, Braintree: “I have no idea, I don’t make those decisions.”

Perhaps the author of the article should visit White House/Black Market. I hear 50% of their inventory is in the color she's looking for.

Is Westwood the future of redevelopment?

Over in Westwood, developers Cabot, Cabot and Forbes and New England Development are planning an interesting, $1.5 billion dollar complex on 130 acres. "Westwood Station", as the facility will be dubbed, will contain housing for 1,000 families, along with offices and prime commuter rail access. For retail, the facility will contain mostly smaller stores, but larger retail stores like Target would fit in fine, creating a lifestyle center.

It's not as if these 130 acres lie vacant; rather, they house a mostly abandoned industrial park and around 20 buildings, making up about 1 million square feet will be torn down to create Westwood Station.

Why is this project worth hearing about? In many aspects, it mirrors the Natick Mall expansion strategy of combining retail and residential components together. Just as the Natick Mall expansion is expected to contain a link between LIFT and Natick Neighborhood Bus services, the Westwood project is based around the presence of MBTA access. Yet as General Growth is eyeing residents interested in "luxurious living", Westwood Station is targetting to a middle-class family with a breadwinner who works in downtown Boston.

There is are differences between the Natick and Westwood projects, but their success will likely determine the future of combined residential/retail projects in suburban portions of the region. Successful redevelopments have already been constructed in other parts of the country, including as The Glen in Glenview, IL; and Stapleton in Denver, CO; but not until now has the concept been incorporated into New England.

Redeveloping blighted areas of the state is only set to spread. Plans range from government controlled areas including the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station in Weymouth, Abington, and Rockland; to urban areas such as the Worcester Common Outlets (to become "City Square") in Worcester and the Assembly Square area of Somerville. The expected success of Natick and Westwood could only be the catalyst to future projects.

What is happening to New England culture?

With the upcoming demise of Filene's, it's hard to say that New England's cultural icons are in a state of stability. Friendly's seems to be closing locations left and right. Bickford's has also done the same to many locations. And with new information that the population of Massachusetts has actually decreased in the last year, will this trend ever end?

In the retail world, the 1990's were devestating to area chains. Following problems with it's central chain, Montgomery Ward proceeded to shutter all Lechmere stores, and for that matter, there were no Montgomery Wards in New England by the end of the decade. Another area electronics store, Fretter, was out by the mid-90's. Grossman's, the local equivalent of Home Depot, saw it's demise in the decade, though it's presence remains today in the "Grossman's Bargain Outlet" chain. And HQ, although a national chain, had given in to Home Depot and closed all locations. There's plenty of other chains to mention, especially the rebranding of Jordan Marsh to Macy's in 1996.

With all of these changes, what will be left of local society by 2020? Following the demise of Jordan Marsh, Filene's still served that role of being a New England department store. When Filene's and Kaufmann's consolidated offices in Boston a few years ago, the role of Filene's seemed even more solidified. Yet this recent merger has changed everything, and now even the fate of a national chain (Lord and Taylor) is in doubt.

In the past, New England has brought Howard Johnsons, Friendly's, and so many other icons to the national front. But what's left? TJX, Staples, and Dunkin Donuts are the main standouts, but at this rate, how much longer will any of these last?

My point: As the country emerges into more of a homogenized society, New England institutions will give way to national icons run from large metropolises; Boston not being one of them.

A Crepe with your Orange Chicken?

Normally you'd probably think of hamburgers, fries, chinese food and cinnamon buns as your typical mall food. But crepes?

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, which has pretty much conquered the restaurant scene in Chicago, has recreated Magic Pan, a chain of crepe stands which were apparently quite popular during the 1970's and the rise of malls. The chain began a massive decline, and operated a few stands before shutting down in the 1990's. Apparently there was once a location at the Burlington Mall in the heyday of the chain.

Anyhow, the owner of of Lettuce Entertain You, Rich Melman, was a big fan of the chain and dined there frequency. Years after the last restaurants had closed, Melman bought the recipes and opened a new Magic Pan at the well-known Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. Now, one is opening at Northbrook Court, an upscale shopping mall in Northbrook, IL, in suburban Chicago, on August 23.

It's an interesting idea, the rather gourmet food of French crepes available at a food court-styled establishment. The first of the new Magic Pans has been a success at the Mall of America since it opened two years ago, but will it work at an upscale mall like Northbrook, amongst retailers like Louis Vuitton and P.F. Chang's? Or does Magic Pan just modify the basic plan of Cinnabon, offering crepes instead of cinnamon buns? Apparently Chicagoland will find out tomorrow.

Marshall Field's is...

(as posted on keepitfields.org)

Marshall Field's is... incredible. I don't think I can put the store into words. I went to the State Street store numerous times when I was in Chicago in 2003 and the entire experience was astounding. The employees helped me locate a specific section of the store, took me there, and introduced me to the salespeople in that department, despite that my purchase was only about $10! I've never had better service anywhere else. The Frango mints are to die for, I've got to order some before it's too late.

We've had Macy's here in the Boston area since 1996, and it's not great at all. It's just like any other department store; they have things to buy, but there is no flair or essence. Before 1996, Macy's was Jordan Marsh, which was basically Boston's Marshall Field's. Rather than Frango's, Jordan's had Blueberry Muffins that were beyond explanation. Jordan Marsh WAS Boston, just as Marshall Field's IS Chicago. People were sad when Jordan Marsh went away, we were some of the first to get the non-New York Macy's, and some were excited as well. If Jordan Marsh were to be slaughtered by Federated right now for Macy's, I think I'd be posting this on keepitjordans.org.

Boston is losing May-owned Filene's now, and there's now way to get it back; Federated has already decided. Even worse, because there are already Macy's stores here, so New England malls will be littered with vacant Filene's anchor stores for no reason at all. But Filene's was like Carson's in Chicago, it's local in history but does not thrive off of it's heritage. Marshall Field's does, just as Jordan Marsh did.

It's far to late to save any of the other department stores lost in the last 10 years, but there's still a chance of saving Marshall Field's. It's really the last American department store, Macy's could be placed anywhere as it has no flavor at all. Federated likes to say that Macy's represents style and New York City, and that's why they want to put it everywhere. Believe me, I've been to many Macy's stores and there is no essence of New York City in the stores at all. But as others in news stories have said, why should the stores be brash like New York City rather than providing the Midwestern comfort and friendliness that makes Marshall Field's, and Chicago, far superior?

Another prediction for the Natick Mall

Looking back at my Natick Mall/Northbrook Court/Tysons Galleria comparison, I think I've figured out another store that we'll probably get.

As you may know, next to Tysons Galleria, GGP's pricey shopping complex located outside Washington, D.C., is another mall, the lower-end Tysons Corner. Tysons Corner resembles what the original Natick Mall will resemble once the expansion opens. Despite not being owned by GGP (instead, it's owned by Macerich, and before that Wilmorite), it's quite similar to what we've already got. Similarly, Tysons Corner was there first before Tysons Galleria (which was originally known as Tysons II).

Anyhow, the point is this. Tysons Corner has an Apple Store, the retail division of Apple Computer. In fact, the Tysons Corner store was one of the first two to open back in 2001. At our similarly-beloved Northbrook Court in Northbrook, IL, outside Chicago, an Apple Store will be opening on July 16th. Could we possibly have an Apple Store in the works at the Natick Mall, either in the existing mall or in the expansion?

Many would vouch to say that MetroWest already has access to an Apple Store, the location at The Mall at Chestnut Hill over in Newton. Door-to-door from the Natick Mall, The Mall at Chestnut Hill is 11.4 miles, and 18 minutes. So, how close is Northbrook Court to the nearest Apple Store?

Even closer. Old Orchard, an upscale shopping mall in Skokie, IL, is a mere 8.4 miles and 13 minutes from Northbrook. And not to diss Chicagoland, but I personally think that there are a lot more Apple users in MetroWest and Boston then in Chicago's North Shore and even the city of Chicago, seeing all of the universities and colleges in the area, not to mention the iPod craze that has been huge in this area.

Apple is working on opening stores in Burlington, Braintree, and even Hingham. So, will the new Natick Mall Expansion bring an Apple Store with it? Judging from Northbrook and McLean, I'd say it's pretty likely, if not before then.