Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reviews a few mall retrofits and finds that breathing life back into a dead mall can be a challenge.
The revision of the enclosed mall at One Schaumburg Place has proven to be an urban success. But others haven't worked so well.
"While the makeover is a garish architectural cartoon, Disneyland-on-the-Prairie, it is an urban design success, a gathering place that is still popular - and appears profitable - 10 years after it was finished. When the owners, Chicago developers Joseph Freed & Associates, announced in May that they were selling the Streets of Woodfield, they issued a statement saying the mall is 98 percent leased over the long-term. The mall even expanded recently by adding a Crate & Barrel and a Whole Foods Market.
Nevertheless, retrofits are by no means sure to attain smashing commercial success, as revealed by the saga of Park Forest's downtown mall."
Study: Retrofitting Old Buildings Has Lower Total Carbon Footprint Than New Construction
A study of over a million Chicago buildings assessed their ‘embodied carbon’ footprint over their lifetimes, showing that demolishing an old building in favor of a new one almost always produced more emissions.
Landmark Mall to Become Mixed-Use Village
Randhurst Mall was the first enclosed mall in the Chicago Area. Today, developers are replacing the mall with an open-air, mixed-use project with a traditional Main Street-style design.
Museum of Public Housing Opens in Chicago
The museum highlights the history of public housing in the United States using displays intimately woven with family artifacts.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access
A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.
Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills
Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.
Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units
Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
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