Hubbard Street Group JV acquires Oak Lawn shopping center; plans for turnaround

Kimco Realty sold the 184K sf property after anchor tenant Kmart’s departure

The Oak Lawn Shopping Center at 95th Street and Pulaski Road
The Oak Lawn Shopping Center at 95th Street and Pulaski Road

Hubbard Street Group and Keeler Real Estate have partnered to buy a shopping center in Oak Lawn whose anchor tenant had been Kmart until last year. The owners plan to redevelop the flagging property.

Kimco Realty sold the roughly 180,000-square-foot Oak Lawn Shopping Center at 95th Street and Pulaski Road, according to RE Journals. It went up for auction last month. The price was not disclosed.

The 15-acre parcel is 15 percent occupied. Tenants are LongHorn Steakhouse, JPMorgan Chase, Lumber Liquidators, Pep Boys and Payless ShoeSource.

The mall had been anchored by the Kmart until last year. Also last year, the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant there closed after falling out of favor with village officials in the wake of a series of fights, arrests and other incidents.

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Developers said they are confident a redeveloped center could draw serious interest, according to RE Journals, pointing to its location across from developments featuring a Home Depot, Target, Jewel-Osco and others. It is also close to Advocate Christ Medical Center/Advocate Children’s Hospital, the suburb’s biggest employer.

The retail sector continues to struggle overall, with the wave of closures of brick-and-mortar stores as consumers continue moving to online shopping.

Real estate investment trusts that focus on Class A properties have fared better, but the Oak Lawn mall hardly fits that description, and some village sources have said the site could even become multifamily housing. [RE Journals]John O’Brien