The revamped space that once housed Lord & Taylor at Westfield Old Orchard Mall has welcomed a new tenant with the recent opening of Arhaus, a furniture and design store. This opening is part of a line-up of four anticipated stores set to inject new life into the previously single-unit structure.
Following the fashionable footsteps of the newly minted European fashion retailer Zara, Puttshack, and Pottery Barn are also set to move in, the latter relocating from within the mall itself. Pottery Barn is targeting a fall opening to make its mark on the multi-unit redevelopment, which includes large windows that bathe the space with natural light. A prior mall announcement relayed that the goal of this expansion is to transform Westfield Old Orchard into a "preeminent live, work, shop, and play destination on the North Shore," reported NBC Chicago.
The latest Zara store, with its sprawling 28,000 square feet, opened its doors last Thursday sporting a state-of-the-art look complete with stone portico and a transparent two-story glass façade. The interior of the store deliberately utilizes neutral tones and well-planned lighting to highlight the company’s fashionable collections. With a convenient two-hour pick-up service for online orders and a high-tech automated collection system for online order retrieval, Zara’s new store is the first in Chicago to incorporate these advances. This shared with a mini-golf restaurant and Arhaus, the inviting facade is just the beginning of a larger shopping experience, according to Patch.
Complementing the new retail spaces, Westfield Old Orchard intends to offer several other amenities, including a publicly accessible park, health and wellness facilities, and a planned apartment complex boasting about 400 luxury units. Even amidst a climate where other regional malls are shutting their doors, such as Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee and Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, Westfield Old Orchard’s continued developments signal a different trajectory towards urban-style rejuvenation of suburban spaces.
Amid the retail reboot, Skokie's Westfield Old Orchard has set its sights on sustainability with Zara's leadership. The retailer's promise to achieve climate neutrality by 2040 manifests in practical integrations such as efficient heating and cooling systems, LED lighting, and the incorporation of sustainable building materials within its newest location. Its pivotal role as a member of the Inditex group, which also operates other renowned brands like Pull&Bear and Massimo Dutti, further bolsters its reputation as a purveyor of global fashion and conscious entrepreneurship, as indicated by Patch. With two more stores set to throw open their doors, this corporate strategy may serve as a compelling blueprint for future retail development.
