A moribund strip mall is getting a $40M makeover

First Midwest Bank boosts Hubbard Street Group and Keeler Real Estate with a new construction loan.

A rendering of the proposed Oak Lawn Commons strip mall
A rendering of the proposed Oak Lawn Commons strip mall

A derelict, mostly-vacant strip mall in Oak Lawn now has the financing to kickstart a much-needed transformation.

According to property records, Hubbard Street Group and Keeler Real Estate received a nearly $40 million refinancing from First Midwest Bank for their Oak Lawn Commons redevelopment project.

Hubbard Street Group and Keeler Real Estate first acquired the shopping center from Kimco Realty in spring 2018 after anchor tenant Kmart left the center. In April of that year, the groups reported wanting to attract retail tenants similar to those in surrounding commercial areas, such as Jewel-Osco, Home Depot and Target, The Real Deal previously reported. At the time of purchase, the 15-acre parcel was just 15 percent occupied with tenants Lumber Liquidators, Payless ShoeSource and LongHorn Steakhouse.

Roughly five months after their purchase, the two groups received the $40 million construction loan.

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“This is a complete redo of this center,” Hubbard Street Group managing partner John McLinden said last year, according to the Daily Southtown. “It’s expensive, but you need to do that in order to attract the quality of tenants that we’re trying to get here.”

The center sits at 4031 95th Street at the intersection of 95th Street and Pulaski Road in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn.

Hubbard Street Group, Keeler Real Estate and First Midwest Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.