Ford City Mall, once the retail jewel of the Southwest Side, has been ordered to shut down in mid-June by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Leonard Murray.
The decision to order the shutdown came weeks after city inspectors said there were health and safety concerns at the Southwest Side shopping center.
The mall has been plagued by a malfunctioning fire suppression system and “huge water leaks, burst sprinkler heads, and blown booster pumps,” as well as “open wiring, dirty conditions, and poor lighting,” according to an April 10 court filing by the city. The parking lot is littered with potholes.
Chicago Fire Department Lt. Robert Steffens also told Judge Murray in April that fixing the fire suppression system wouldn’t make the indoor mall safe. He said water pipes date to the 1960s, and the antiquated system could have leaked several million gallons of water that might have leaked into the ground underneath the mall and may pose a threat to the mall’s structural integrity.
“We could have a portion of the mall collapse into a great sinkhole,” Steffens said.
“The main mall will be shuttered June 22 at noon,” Assistant Corporation Counsel Greg Janes said Friday at a hearing in Cook County Circuit Court. Janes said the city and mall owner Namdar Realty Group negotiated an order to close the main section of the shopping center, including the last JCPenney store in Chicago.
Penney recently signed a five-year lease agreement with Namdar. The retailer had said it would close the store after the judge’s original order to close the mall, but then changed course and said it would remain open pending the final decision.
“Despite our best efforts to remain at Ford City Mall, JCPenney will close this location to the public by June 21, 2026, as a result of the city of Chicago’s motion to vacate the property due to safety concerns not addressed by the landlord,” a JCPenney spokesperson said Friday.
Not all of the mall at 7601 S. Cicero Ave. will shut down on June 22. The North Mall, an outdoor strip center which includes a Planet Fitness health club, and outlying businesses such as IHOP and AMC Ford City 14 movie theater will remain open – for now.
The court will hold a June 29 hearing to ensure the shutdown happens safely and without adverse impacts on the North Mall and other businesses, Janes said.
Kurv Industrial (formerly Bridge Industrial) last July proposed buying the 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 Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th).
The project would require city approval, which has been delayed because of health and safety concerns at the site.
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 after intense pressure from Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.
Ford reacquired 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 had dozens of stores and was anchored by major retailers including Montgomery Ward, Sears and Carsons. It had a popular arcade area known as Peacock Alley.
The mall was purchased in 2019 for $16.6 million by New York-based Namdar Realty Group. Remaining tenants said Namdar has invested nothing in the mall since the purchase and has allowed the mall to decline.
Mason Asset Management manages Namdar’s shopping centers.
