Matteson Gains Full Control of Shuttered Lincoln Mall Site

The former Lincoln Mall site in Matteson is now “shovel ready” for development following a key land acquisition by the village.

Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin said that the village paid $108,000 for the last parcel needed to consolidate ownership of the 60-acre site, clearing the way for the long-awaited Market Square Crossing development envisioned by the local government, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Since the Lincoln Mall’s closure in January 2015 and subsequent demolition in 2018, Matteson has worked to acquire the various parcels that make up the property, including the $525,000 purchase of the Sears Holdings site. With this final acquisition, the village has full control of the property, and is positioned to try and lure developers who could refresh the site.

“It makes it much easier when you can sit down with developers and talk about your ownership and what you have as to what can be developed there,” Chalmers-Currin said. “That last piece of parcel makes us very much more in demand.”

Plans for Market Square Crossing include residential units, retail spaces, office areas, recreational facilities and a central open area. Matteson is working with The Lord Cos., which has divided the property into 14 lots, making it easier to market to potential developers.

It’s one of several former mall sites reckoning with store closures and declining visits from shoppers; while some regional malls are still functional, their landlords and other real estate firms have still had to propose massive redevelopment plans to add apartments and other uses nearby, such as at Skokie’s Old Orchard Mall, where owner URW is injecting $100 million to add multifamily housing to the site. And in Lombard, Synergy Construction & Development this month landed $92 million in financing to build up to 600 apartments surrounding the Yorktown Center mall in a bid to revive that retail property in partnership with landlord Pacific Retail Capital Partners.

Past recommendations for Matteson’s Lincoln Mall redevelopment have included transforming the site into a walkable town center with apartments above retail stores, a public plaza, green spaces and an amphitheater. Last year, the village created a tax increment financing district to provide incentives for private investment.

“We don’t have to rush,” Chalmers-Currin said. “We’re going to make sure we have the right individuals as part of Market Square Crossing.”

While the redevelopment of the Lincoln Mall site has taken time, Chalmers-Currin noted that Matteson’s overall financial health supports its current and future development efforts. The village’s sales tax revenue reached $9.5 million in 2023, a significant increase from $8 million during the peak years of Lincoln Mall.

“We want to make sure that we don’t only look at what was done in the past,” Chalmers-Currin said. “We know that malls of the past are no longer going to be in the future.”

— Andrew Terrell