Fox Valley Mall
 View from Southwest parking lot | |
| Location | Aurora, Illinois, USA |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°45′30″N 88°12′45″W / 41.7583628°N 88.2125683°WCoordinates: 41°45′30″N 88°12′45″W / 41.7583628°N 88.2125683°W |
| Address |
195 Fox Valley Center Aurora, IL 60504 |
| Opening date | 1975 |
| Developer | Metropolitan Structures, Inc./ Westbrook Venture |
| Management | Centennial Real Estate |
| Owner |
Centennial Real Estate Montgomery Street Partners USAA Real Estate Westfield Corporation |
| No. of stores and services | 150 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,404,987 square feet (130,527.6 m2) [1] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Website |
www |
Fox Valley Mall, formerly Westfield Fox Valley, is a shopping mall in Aurora, Illinois. Its four anchor stores are Carson Pirie Scott, JCPenney, Macy's and Sears.
Its original anchors included Lord & Taylor, which closed in 1996 and sold its store to Carson Pirie Scott. The Marshall Field's store was renamed Macy's on September 9, 2006.
The Westfield Group acquired the shopping center in early 2002, and renamed it "Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Valley", dropping the "Shoppingtown" name in June 2005.
Westfield Group sold 80% interest in mall as of December 2015.[2]
Major anchors
- Carson Pirie Scott (115,960 sq ft.) store was expanded into nearby vacant storefronts after Carson's moved in.
- JCPenney (206,937 sq ft.)
- Macy's (229,558 sq ft.)
- Sears (316,000 sq ft.)[3]
Former anchors
- Lord & Taylor (closed 1996 and space was sold to Carson Pirie Scott)
- Marshall Field's (space was renamed Macy's in 2006)
History
Original planning was started in 1968 by Urban Investment and Development Company; a prototype called Environ 2000. The first plans had 640 acres (2.6 km2) for development as a planned community to help minimize suburban sprawl.
When construction was ready to start in June 1973, the planned unit development was 4,220 acres (17.1 km2) of land between Naperville and Aurora. Fox Valley Center and Villages developers were Metropolitan Structures, Inc., and Westbrook Venture.
The Fox Valley Mall is a 1,500,000-square-foot (140,000 m2) enclosed mall, opened and completed in 1975. Sears and Marshall Field's opened first, followed by JCPenney, Lord & Taylor (now Carson Pirie Scott) and 150 other shops and services.[4]
This was later followed by marketing for home builders and office development in the area marketed as Fox Valley Villages.
Sales at the mall were stated at $115 million in 1977.[5]
Before the mid 2000s, the mall had large gardens and plants spread throughout. They were all removed from the mall shortly after Westfield's purchase.
After Westfield's purchase of the mall, all the signs and usage of the Fox Valley Center logo was discontinued and replaced with Westfield's standard mall brand logo, with the shortened Fox Valley name. In the same time period there was an extensive renovation of the mall for the first time in its history. After Centennial Real Estate's purchase of 80% interest in the mall in 2015, all "Westfield" signs were replaced with "Fox Valley Mall" signs.
Fox Valley nomenclature
The mall itself sits on the stretch of Illinois Route 59 between U.S. 34 and East New York Street / West Aurora Avenue, with 8,006 car parking spaces.[6] The area around the mall, mostly the stretch of IL 59 between U.S. 34 to the south and Diehl Road to the north, has been developed on the east and west sides of the road. The area is highly developed, with such stores as Sam's Club, Meijer, H H Gregg, Target, Guitar Center, Petsmart, and many other retailers, along with many other well-known restaurants.
Gallery
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The carousel and food court.
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View from the lower level.
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View from the upper level looking down at the animated water fountain.
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A Luckey Climber in the children's play area.
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Distant view from the Southwest.
References
- ↑ http://www.westfieldcorp.com/centre/westfield-fox-valley/
- ↑ Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/news/ct-abn-aurora-foxvalley-st-1222-20151221-story.html. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Fox Valley Mall - directory various years prior to Westfield ownership 'information on occupants'
- ↑ The DuPage Magazine, October 1978, pages 14-16 ' background on the construction of Fox Valley Mall'
- ↑ The DuPage Magazine, October 1978, page 17 ' early sales figure'
- ↑ "Westfield Fox Valley: Key Features". Westfield Group. Retrieved 18 January 2013.