A piece of Chicago that served the country in wartime and got reinvented for postwar consumerism only to struggle in recent years could be reinvented again.
It’s a “back to the future” strategy applied to real estate. A Chicago-based developer with a contract to purchase Ford City Mall, 7601 S. Cicero Ave., wants to replace the stores with an industrial campus.
Gone would be a faded plaza where JCPenney is the only department store — old-time anchors such as Carson’s and Sears are but memories. The buildings would be razed and replaced by four buildings zoned for warehousing or light manufacturing, according to details Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) shared with constituents.
Curtis said the Southwest Side mall is more than half vacant, leading to “bad elements” at the property. Its parking lots have been used for “drifting” takeovers, where drivers noisily do doughnuts. Thefts led the mall to limit when minors could be there without an adult.
Ford City “has been distressed at least the last seven years,” Curtis said. “They let the grass grow up 6 feet. The ‘doughnut’ people burn their tires there. They don’t do anything to keep the drifters away.”
He said early reaction to the proposed change has been positive. “People are happy because they know what’s there now. It’s an eyesore,” Curtis said. His ward includes Ford City, giving him influence over whether the City Council grants a zoning change.
The proposal from Bridge Industrial said its $150 million investment will create at least 400 permanent jobs. Bridge plans to build 913,000 square feet, with 923 parking spaces and 92 loading docks.
It needs the City Council to rezone the roughly 60-acre property from a shopping district category to an Industrial Planned Development. The proposal must get a Chicago Plan Commission review before alderpersons consider it.
Curtis said he expects to hold a community meeting about Ford City in early August. Bridge owns properties in the U.S. and Europe, including more than 21 million square feet in the Chicago area.
The current owner of Ford City, Namdar Realty Group, specializes in distressed property. It bought the mall in 2019 for $16.6 million, a far cry from earlier transactions. Tycoon Sam Zell had the property for 25 years, paying a reported $75 million in 1987. Zell handed it to his lender in 2012.
It’s not known how much Bridge will pay for the site. Bridge and Namdar did not reply to requests for comment.
Not included in their deal would be a movie theater, retail frontage along Cicero Avenue or the Tootsie Roll factory at 7401 S. Cicero Ave., which is separately owned but was part of the property when it was used for manufacturing.
Namdar “historically has not invested a lot in the properties they acquired,” said retail consultant John Melaniphy, president of Melaniphy & Associates.
“Ford City succumbed to many of the same issues that faced regional malls,” especially those situated in areas with lower or moderate incomes, Melaniphy said.
Malls relied on department stores to drive traffic, but online shopping upset that business model. Melaniphy said e-commerce spending is growing about three times faster than business for brick-and-mortar stores.
The pre-mall era of the site’s history dates from 1942, when Chrysler’s Dodge division used it to build engines for B-29 bombers. A 2009 account in the Sun-Times said the complex had the nickname “Hitler’s headache” and included tunnels that still exist beneath the mall.
After World War II, Preston Tucker took it over for his ill-fated attempt to challenge the Big Three automakers with a new sedan. He ran out of cash and credit after building 51 cars that today are prized possessions for collectors.
Ford moved in for the Korean War effort in the 1950s. It assembled Pratt & Whitney engines for bomber and cargo planes.
In 1959, Ford shut down the site and the place fell into disuse. The federal government sold it in 1961 to developer Harry Chaddick, a onetime Chicago zoning director, who wanted to keep retail spending inside city limits. Chaddick had some buildings wrecked and reconfigured others, opening the mall in 1965 with tenants that included Wieboldt’s and Turn Style.
Chaddick kept the Ford name to brand the mall. Today, the name puzzles some Chicagoans who see no obvious connection to the automaker.
But it’s a historical reference Curtis would like to retain somewhere if the property gets redeveloped.
Across the Chicago area, the push of e-commerce has caused developers to hunt for underused sites that could be converted to warehouses. Some proposals, however, faltered because local opponents feared the warehouses would create truck traffic, pollution and noise.
Curtis said the Ford City traffic pattern will minimize the impact on Cicero. He also said the developer will plant 750 trees and add a berm to shield a residential area.
He emphasized that he hopes Bridge will do more than just build warehouses, a use that eats up space but accounts for fewer jobs than a factory. For inspiration and possible tenants, Curtis said the developer should work with neighboring Daley College, which has a program in advanced manufacturing.
