Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Roosevelt Collection Retail Leaked? or a Late April Fools?

We spared our readers the typical shenanigans of April fools this year (not so lucky last year), but last night a reader posted on our Facebook page, saying that she heard that some shops have signed leases at Roosevelt Collection:
So, I hear that these shops have signed leases for Roosevelt Collection.
  • Ulta
  • H&M
  • Vapiano
  • Ann Taylor
  • White House Black Market
  • Lululemon
  • Z Gallerie
  • Yard House
  • Aveda
  • Bath & Body Works
  • Republic of Couture
  • Anthropologie
  • Arhaus
  • Sports Authority
  • Lettuce Entertain You
  • The Limited
  • Victoria's Secret
  • Jos. A. Bank

We're not sure if this is a late April fools joke, but if this is true, wow! This would be great news for shopping and the overall vibrancy of the neighborhood. Even if half of them are true, we would be happy.

If you're a loyal reader you know that Roosevelt Collection has stated that their goal is to have 75% of the retail space leased and opened by November 1st, 2012. We haven't heard much on the retail front, but hopefully they hit their goal (with or without some of the stores listed above)!

(Hat tip: KL!)

49 comments:

BRENDAN said...

This is great news if true but what I cannot understand is how they are going to divert traffic. With 0% retail the traffic is bad around RC, with all those places it will be awful. I have no problem walking there but the traffic must be a concern.

Hope this post didnt offend all those awesome "anons" that bless this blog with their presence.

MarkChicago said...

Good point Brendan. I think once Congress is fully open, some of the Roosevelt traffic will die down. Unfortunately, they have been working on that for basically the entire time I've lived here so I can't comment on what Roosevelt was like prior to the road work/standing around.

Anonymous said...

While I wish it were true, I can't see this list being real (or at least accurate). H&M for instance, is only in the top malls in the area (+ Mich. Ave of course). Why would they build here?

These just seem a little too high end to me, and I can't see why some of them would want to be hidden within the confinements of RC. But of course, I hope they prove me wrong!

Anonymous said...

Now that Obama has brought our economy back to life, we can expect to see these vacancies filled up before the Christmas season. The stores are what you would see in "Everymall USA" so let's welcome this "slice of American corporation-ism". Hopefully the Lettuce restaurant is a clever one and there's a Chicago hotdog/beef stand there too!

Anonymous said...

I don't think there's space enough there for half of those places. Even though it looks so empty and big now. My guess is it's not true at all.

hot saucerman said...

I had seen a previous list of shops scheduled to go in there and some of these are the same so who knows.

I'm not sure if the last post concerning there being enough space is serious or not, but there is probably enough space to triple that list.

Anonymous said...

H&m isnt high end and they have stores all over the city including on state street right next to a tj-maxx. i think it would be a good fit at RC actually. all these stores seem plausible. Most already have a track record of going into out door malls. they all seem to match the south loop demographic pretty well and there should be plenty of retail space to accommodate those retailers. there is also retail space on wells fyi. hope this is true. we should find out soon.

Anonymous said...

Really? And one cannot hop on a train or bus to get to almost any of these stores downtown or on Michigan Avenue?

It would be great to have retail finally in that space. And honestly I am not sure what else we "need" in the area that isn't easily accessible elsewhere in the city.

I'd love more restaurants and bars more so than retail.

Anonymous said...

I don't think you guys realize how much space is empty on the first and second floors. RC can accomodate this list with space left to spare, which is scary.

Anonymous said...

Somewhere I read that RC has 400K of retail space, with 25% going to the theater. If true, this leaves 300K or 17K on average for the 18 retailers listed. A small Sports Authority is apparently 25K, so this doesn't seem so unreasonable given that the restaurants will be smaller. And H&M apparently has mall locations ranging from 7-25K square feet.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I wish the was a Apple Store going in

CubFanDonny said...

who cares, no one will come down here anyway.

We need more places to drink beers

CubFanDonny said...

who cares, no one will come down here anyway.

We need more places to drink beers

Anonymous said...

Ummm, this list is too long for the space available.

BRENDAN said...

even if it was HALF these places it would still be great news. Just would like some kind of retail life over there.

--as always, I hope my comments did not offend any of the delicate anons. i will continue to walk on eggshells so you may enjoy the rest of your falafel burrito in peace.

Dad-to-be said...

@CubFanDonny

We're (South Loop Brewing Company & Broad Shoulders Brewing) working on it!

CubFanDonny said...

Dad-to-be

Hurry up dude! Make sure to stock up on plenty of pabst and old style man!

Catch ya later dude

Anonymous said...

There is an update on the plaza construction at Roosevelt Collection here: http://blog.rooseveltcollection.com/the-lofts/plaza-updates-from-dan-mccaffery/

Anonymous said...

I found this leasing brochure on the owner's (Mccaffery Interests) webpage:

http://www.mccafferyinterests.com/resources/content/5/8/7/documents/RooseveltCollection_LeasingBrochure.pdf

On page 6, all retailers mentioned in the post can be found as "Executed leases and active negotiations with some of the most exciting tenants".

Anonymous said...

South Loop Brewing Company & Broad Shoulders Brewing will obviously have much better beers than Pabst and Old Style. I hope that was a joke.

Anonymous said...

impossible ..i will spare my brain any further thought on this

Anonymous said...

Thank you Anon 5:57PM!! That link provides more useful info than people like Brenden, FitGuy, etc have ever contributed to this site. Go Anons!

Anonymous said...

Hey, leave FitGuy out of this. At least he's funny.

Anonymous said...

And in the meantime, the Trib has an article today about the opening of Athetica in the Southport Corridor. Athletica is the new hip, trendy sportswear store that has hit the coasts and just came to Chicago (finally!). Mind you: this is an ACTUAL store opening, unlike all the "talk" about something potentially opening some day in the distant future in the sloop. Oh well, the rich get richer and the sloop remains the sloop.

Matt said...

For those of you saying that this is impossible because the list is too long, you really havent got a clue what you are talking about. There are 18 names on the list, and there are 25 retail spaces available on the first floor alone. There are another 5 on the 2nd level, and that assumes they cannot be divided. There's plenty of space.

As anyone who was here 5 years ago can tell you, this neighborhood has improved tremendously. We have more dining and entertainment options than ever and owners of establishments throughout the city have started to realize how underserved this neighborhood is. There's still a ton of room for improvement, but the Sloop has never been a better place and though many of the planned businesses may not actually come to fruition, thats part of the development process. I'm excited to see what the next few years will bring.

Anonymous said...

"Executed leases and active negotiations with some of the most exciting tenants"

Notice how it lists the icon theater, so for all we know everyone else fits under "active negotiations". Marketing bs at its finest.

BILL C said...

Man this "anon" frenzy is getting old. Sloopy please change it so these gutless dumbys cannot post anymore, they bring nothing but headaches to your otherwise great blog.

Anonymous said...

I just hope the will get started already. The Roosevelt Collection area has been empty long enough, just like areas on the city's south and west sides that need grocery stores. Like someone suggested, an Apple store will be a good idea. Does anyone know if any more stores are opening in the SouthLoop Market Mall. I was there last weekend and saw at two empty spots. Former Office Depot store and the section next to DSW.

Anonymous said...

Owners of the Roosevelt Collection need to get started. This area has been empty too long. Does anyone knows, if any stores are opening in the Southloop Market Mall to replace the closed Office Depot store and the section next to DSW.

Anonymous said...

Pretty sad that we are comparing our hood to the food deserts on the far west and south sides. Yet, we do have much more in common with those hoods than lincoln park, bucktown, southport corridor, river north, etc. So sad, yet so true. People keep touting "progress,"; however, in the 3 years I have lived in the sloop, more places have closed than opened.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, seems like Mccaffery Interests replaced the retail brochure with an older, less informative one; the guys at Roosevelt Collection probably read Sloopin as well.

@ Matt
I completely agree with the statement that the Sloop is underserved (from population statistics alone). However, I wonder what fraction of the hood has no interest in the local restaurant/bar/retail scene. It seems like plenty of people here only see the inside of their high-rise and their air-conditioned over-sized american family car, and couldn't care less for a lively and walkable neighbourhood.

Anonymous said...

Okay anon April 4, 2012 2:28 PM
Thats taking it a bit too far. I agree that we need more nightlife but saying that we are more like south/west sides than our northern neighbors is a huge exageration to me. Our area has every grocery store that exists and many retail options. I think that the retailers/grocery stores should be going further south. Marianos was supposed to go further south but pulled out. I walk everywhere and don't have to leave the area(I'm carless)I think the rosevelt collection should have never included retail. It should have just been condos and apartments.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:28: your statement that more places have closed than have opened, simply isn't true. Please check your facts and try again. If you do have such statistics, please share with the class.

Anonymous said...

This is not going to happen. Those are some high end stores...at least not in this area.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who thinks this is a list of stores that are actually going to open at RC needs their head examined. Places like Ann Taylor Loft and Black and White only exist at high-end locations like Nordstrom's North Bridge mall on North Michigan Ave. Same is usually true of Anthropologie locations (plus, the anthropologie location at block 37 is struggling).

This is most likely a list of tenants the new developer is/has negotiated with for its diverse properties all over the country.

One thing is for certain: the RC has been open for almost four years and ZERO commercial spaces have opened. Depressing.

Matt said...

For the last 2 anons who said that this isnt going to happen. Please give your names so we can all point out how little you know about what you are talking about and we can disregard your future comments as unqualified speculation.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Ann Taylor but Ann Taylor LOFT is not high end. What about all those locations in the loop?

Anonymous said...

These stores are not high-end. Great stores that I will shop at, but they are not high-end. South Loop still needs a pocket of boutique shops (men's and women's) to open. I think there are 3 to 4 buildings in the motor row area that could become a "one stop shop" for either higher end furniture and/or indoor shops. Example: 2222 S. Michigan (the building next to Marmon grand).

Anonymous said...

@ Anon 7:23 AM

The plan has been to have a fairly synchronized opening of the RC retail, something that was put on ice after the recent (global) recession. The new owners restarted the retail negotiations only recently but there is no doubt they got further in only 6 months than the previous ones managed to do over several years.

Once retail opens in late summer/fall, and the dilapidated eyesore on the north side has been transformed, it will be a busy area for sure. My personal opinion is that the north side park is even more important than the retail in order to anchor the RC to the neighborhood for the few of us whole actually enjoy walking here instead of driving everywhere.......right FitGuy!? ;)

Anonymous said...

If these are a done deal, why hasn't the company announced them publicly? I'd love for it to be true, but count me as skeptical. -- Julie

Anonymous said...

If even half of the tenants on this list open up at RC, that would more than triple the number of retail outlets in the sloop.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:37: yet another incorrect statement. I would be mad about good news if I couldn't count too

Anonymous said...

The pdf mentioned by April 3, 2012 5:47 PM
is only 2 pages, not the 6 mentioned ... and what's at the posted location has nothing on those stores. Is there another brochure floating around?

As far as the park, there does seem to be some activity with trucks in around there lately, but I can see the park location from my window and so far, it's still bare dirt.

Anonymous said...

As was mentioned by Anon @ 2:03 PM, the .pdf was replaced to an older one (it only contains the info that was provided to the residents during a meting almost a year ago.) shortly after the blogosphere found out about it.

There is some kind of temporary dog park there now, although it occupies only ~1% of the land. The grand plan for McCafferey Interests is to build a bunch of new hi-rises there with a a park attached to it. Hopefully something temporary will be done to the area before this, as most it;s unbearably ugly.

Anonymous said...

Dont know if this is helpful but here is what I found on the project

http://www.mccafferyinterests.com/resources/content/5/8/5/documents/RooseveltCollection-040912.pdf

on page 13 it lists a few of the retailers.

UnFitGuy said...

And the brochure that was removed is now here:

http://www.mccafferyinterests.com/resources/content/5/8/5/documents/RooseveltCollection_LeasingBrochure.pdf

Check out page 6 for retail names.

Kevin P said...

If this is true, this would be fantastic news. The overwhelming response to this news has been negative- but I bet that's from people who don't live in the neighborhood. I live in Printers Row Bldng directly north of RC and have seen the transformation over the last 5 years. Isn't it possible that these potential commercial tenants didn't move in initially because: A) they wanted to wait til the residential portion of RC was close to full occupancy, B) the initial commercial rent was too high and has now been lowered, C) waiting to see how it trended? D) stores wanted to move in as a cluster, not one-by-one. NOW, 4 years after RC opened, it makes sense for these businesses to want to move in. FORESIGHT, people.

Congress construction is in the latter stages, SLoop has grown leaps-n-bounds over the past 4-5 years, and this would be a GREAT addition ot the neighborhood, especially since they opened the stairs just north of RC connecting to Financial and Wells, allowing for lots more foot traffic. Let's not forget that there's ridiculous amount of parking available in RC, enough to accomodate for all stores. Hypothetically If you wanted to go to Apple/ H&M, would you go to State Street, or drive to RC and park FOR FREE?

Lastly, for those who think stores like H&M, Apple, and Akira only open in the most high-end areas, just look at Akira- who is looking to open its FLAGSHIP store in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Sports Authority could very easily open a smaller scaled store, a la Wal-Mart in the Presidential Towers area.

POSITIVITY is CONTAGIOUS.

R2J said...

This list is the same as the one that was originally there in 2009/2010.

Has McCaffery actually confirmed this or is it another developer just using the marketing brochures that we initially created?