Target is no longer in talks to open a store in the Water Tower Place mall, an alderman said, apparently eliminating a candidate to fill a block of the Mag Mile space vacated earlier this year by Macy’s.
The Minneapolis-based retailer has backed off pursuing a lease with the mall’s owner, after taking a much-publicized look at the North Michigan Avenue space a few months ago, 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins said Thursday.
“There are no current negotiations with Target and have not been for some time,” Hopkins said. “This is pure speculation, but I believe negative publicity was a factor.”
Pedestrians walk through Macy's department store at Water Tower Place Thursday Jan. 7, 2021. Macy's closed the department store, leaving the space vacant for the first time since the eight-story mall opened in 1975 with Marshall Field's as the anchor tenant. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Target was rumored to be looking at the mall, as well as other Mag Mile spaces, when one elected official in March spoke out against it, triggering a conversation about which types of retailers are best suited for the avenue.
In an interview on WGN radio, nearby resident and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas argued that Target’s arrival could make Michigan Avenue and nearby Oak Street less desirable to higher-end retailers.
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Pappas, who lives near the mall, during the radio interview said it would be “embarrassing” to have Target on the city’s most popular shopping avenue, alongside the likes of Gucci and Louis Vuitton. But the Mag Mile long has attracted less glitzy, everyday stores such as Walgreens drugstores and budget-friendly brands such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls.
Hopkins said several tenants have been in talks to lease space in Water Tower Place. But as of Thursday, he said Brookfield Properties has yet to come to him with any imminent deals, as the mall owner said it would do ahead of signing leases.
“That could change suddenly, and I certainly hope it does,” Hopkins said. “I don’t enjoy seeing a space as large as the Macy’s space languishing.”
In an email, Target spokeswoman Jill Lewis said the company is “continually evaluating potential store locations to serve new guests,” but she did not answer questions about Water Tower Place.
Brookfield spokeswoman Lindsay Kahn declined to comment on Target. “We will publicly share updates with the community when we are able,” she said in an email.
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Although it was long anticipated, Macy’s announcement in January that the department store chain was vacating the largest anchor space in the vertical mall sent a jolt through a Chicago retail market that already was reeling from changes in shopping habits, the COVID-19 pandemic and incidents of property damage and theft in recent years.
Macy’s left behind 323,812 square feet, including 227,212 square feet of selling space, spread across all eight floors and the mezzanine level of Water Tower Place.
The space, originally occupied by Marshall Field’s and later the Macy’s brand, had never been vacant since the mall opened in 1975.
The process of filling that hole is the biggest challenge Water Tower has faced, real estate experts say.
Macy’s departure, combined with other closures in the mall, leaves Brookfield with the task of finding new tenants — particularly on upper floors, which are difficult to fill even in a strong economy — more than a year into a pandemic. There is plenty of competition from other properties throughout the street.
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The Tribune’s block-by-block analysis of the Mag Mile in April found 28 vacant storefronts, or just over 25% of the 110 businesses on the avenue.
Vacancies include multistory flagships such as the one Apple left in 2017 for a newly constructed building a few blocks away and one the Gap recently closed.
rori@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Ryan_Ori
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