Comments on: Evergreen Plaza; Evergreen Park, Illinois

By: T.S.

T.S. — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:09:38 +0000

I hope the redevelopment will look like a smaller Old Orchard. A regular strip mall would look boring.

Since I want to own movie theaters, my dream is to build an 8-10 screen, 2500-3000 seat cineplex at the plaza. Pehaps with a parking deck too.

By: Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)

Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:55:27 +0000

Good news and bad news, mostly good:

A redevelopment has been announced for this mall, and they want to tear down the original 1950s segment for a strip center while adding another anchor. Looks like The Fair building will be kept.

http://www.theplazamall.org/PDF%20Documents/PlazaMallLeasingBrochure.pdf

By: Sharon

Sharon — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:45:12 +0000

A JCPenny would be perfect for that mall.

By: Mick

Mick — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:46:11 +0000

The plaza is a great place to shop. Been shopping there my whole life. The Carson’s store is the best one in the Chicagoland area. I live in Evergreen Park and I’m white. I have to laugh at the comments about how “scary this place is to shop”.
Yes there are hip hoppers and teenagers shopping but never seen anything I haven’t seen at Ford City or River Oaks.
Because of the “scary people” It cuts my Christmas shopping time in half. While the “frightened ones” drives 40 minutes to Orland and fight the crowds, I’m in and out of Carson’s and don’t have to drive around looking for a parking space.
They do need another anchor store to replace Wards, to help the mall survive.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:25:38 +0000

Good article, with accurate facts for the most part. I’ve lived in Evergreen Park twice in my life. I grew up with The Plaza and worked there in the early 1970’s. It’s in better shape now than then. I used to see Arthur Rubeloff with his trademark derby eating hamburgers at the nearby “Wimpys”, which is now and Arby’s. I remember The Plaza with the Jewel food store. There was a conveyor belt that you could load your groceries onto and it came out in the east parking lot.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:55:11 +0000

Was by this mall last Friday and it seems to be doing quite well actually.
There are a few empty stores but most all are open. The Circuit City space is still empty and Carson’s was pretty quiet, otherwise well.

By: Jonah Norason

Jonah Norason — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:23:17 +0000

If you see Mall Hall of Fame, there used to be an EVEN SMALLER store there. Maybe The Plaza needs a total “restart” in its life. Go back to an outdoor mall, rename to Evergreen Plaza and bring in non-lifestyle center stores.

By: CoryTJ

CoryTJ — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:55:02 +0000

Too bad they are going to the open air concept with this mall. I think it is actually an attractive mall…a little different. They converted the Bayshore Mall in Milwaukee to one of these open air outdoor concepts to mirror the feel of Oakbrook (IL), and quite frankly it hasn’t caught on with the locals. We are in the Midwest for heaven’s sake; it gets COLD here. Some of the merchants didn’t last but a few months in this outdoor concept.

Why don’t they just update the mall or change some of the design elements. It’s great to plan for the future and implement a strategy to deal with the change in retail climate, but why “fix” something that doesn’t appear broken? Am I missing something here with this mall?

By: Tamica

Tamica — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 13:27:27 +0000

I am just glad to see that they recognize a change is needed. Although there have been many chages already, I’d like to see the changes become more upscale. The Plaza is geared to the teenagers and thug-wannabes just way too much. There are families, families, and more families in that area. Why not make it a mall where families can do some quick Saturday shopping and dining??? If you’re gonna change…….I say, Change BIG!

By: Tamir

Tamir — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:42:24 +0000

While I’m in favor of a major redevelopment, I think they should keep it enclosed, and make it look like the Harlem-Irving Plaza.