Retailer Von Maur has signed a lease with Simon Property Group at the Orland Square Mall in suburban Orland Park. The deal helps cushion the blow for Simon, which has lost two anchor tenants there in recent months.
Davenport, Iowa-based Von Maur plans to spend more than $25 million overhauling the former Carson’s store in the mall for its seventh Illinois location, according to the Daily Southtown.
The Orland Park Village board last week approved tax incentives worth $8.5 million to lure the chain. Under the deal, which still must be approved by several other area taxing bodies, the village would abate property taxes and share sales tax revenue generated by the store with Von Maur.
The Simon Property Group mall saw both Carson’s and Sears close their locations in recent months, leaving two of the four anchor spaces vacant.
The Sears property is owned by Seritage Growth Properties, which plans to turn that two-story space into a 10-screen move thater and other retail tenants, according to the Southtown.
Village officials said Von Maur would not only help draw shoppers to the mall but also would help Seritage fill the former Sears space.
Other malls could soon find themselves in a similar situation, as Sears plans to close more than 200 stores in the coming months, and could shut down altogether if its bankruptcy ends in liquidation. [Daily Southtown] — John O’Brien