Bridge Industrial has proposed buying the struggling Ford City Mall with an eye toward turning the site into a complex of four warehouses totaling more than 900,000 square feet.
The developer, who has broken ground on two smaller but similar projects in nearby Bedford Park and Summit, would spend more than $150 million on the project, according to an email sent by Ald. Derrick Curtis to his constituents. No sale price was indicated.
The project would require city approval and, if it gets the go-ahead, work would start in the fall of 2026 and take about two years to complete.
The mall at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. was purchased in 2019 for $16.6 million by New York-based Namdar Realty Group. Mason Asset Management manages Namdar’s shopping centers.
The site was a defense plant during World War II and tested engines for B-29 bombers.
The plant closed at the end of the war in 1945 and was idle until it was acquired in 1948 by Preston Tucker and turned into an auto plant.
Tucker produced only 51 cars before it closed.
Ford took over the plant, and it was used to build airplane engines during the Korean War, but it closed in 1959.
In 1961, the site was acquired by developer Harry Chaddick and investors who opened it in 1965 as Ford City shopping center.
In its heyday, the mall was anchored by major retailers including Montgomery Ward, Sears and Carsons. It had a popular arcade area known as Peacock Alley. Today, more than half the space is vacant, according to Curtis.
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Namdar would retain some retail space along Cicero Avenue and the AMC Ford City 14 movie theater at Kostner Avenue and 77th Street.
Curtis told residents that Bridge would plant more than 750 trees in a buffer area between the planned warehouses and nearby residential areas, while truck access would be prohibited on Cicero Avenue and 76th Street.
In recent years, Namdar has been acquiring south suburban retail centers. Those south suburban acquisitions included River Oaks Center in Calumet City, The Landings shopping center in Lansing, Northfield Square in Bourbonnais, the Marketplace of Matteson and Matteson Town Center, both in Matteson. All are managed by Mason.
According to Curtis, the proposed redevelopment will include four new industrial buildings totaling approximately 913,000 square feet, with 923 parking spaces and 92 loading docks.
If approved, the project is expected to create approximately 90 construction jobs and 400-450 permanent jobs once operational.