Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reviews a few mall retrofits and finds that breathing life back into a dead mall can be a challenge.
The revision of the enclosed mall at One Schaumburg Place has proven to be an urban success. But others haven't worked so well.
"While the makeover is a garish architectural cartoon, Disneyland-on-the-Prairie, it is an urban design success, a gathering place that is still popular - and appears profitable - 10 years after it was finished. When the owners, Chicago developers Joseph Freed & Associates, announced in May that they were selling the Streets of Woodfield, they issued a statement saying the mall is 98 percent leased over the long-term. The mall even expanded recently by adding a Crate & Barrel and a Whole Foods Market.
Nevertheless, retrofits are by no means sure to attain smashing commercial success, as revealed by the saga of Park Forest's downtown mall."
Study: Retrofitting Old Buildings Has Lower Total Carbon Footprint Than New Construction
A study of over a million Chicago buildings assessed their ‘embodied carbon’ footprint over their lifetimes, showing that demolishing an old building in favor of a new one almost always produced more emissions.
Landmark Mall to Become Mixed-Use Village
Randhurst Mall was the first enclosed mall in the Chicago Area. Today, developers are replacing the mall with an open-air, mixed-use project with a traditional Main Street-style design.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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