Big boxes · Illinois

Former Kmart store

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedReinhabitedRetrofit builtWaukegan, IL

Retrofitted Kmart (2018) now a school campus on high-traffic corridor; retrofit already complete, median rent $1,434 cited as key factor. · summary, model-written

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Site profile6 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

Kmart

This site: Kmart wikipedia · all sites with this

Place

County typical rent $2,000+

This site: $2,255/mo zillow · all sites with this

Interstate or freeway within 600 m

This site: Bobby E Thompson Expwy fhwa-hpms · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: …a school campus record · all sites with this

Reinhabited

This site: …a school campus record · all sites with this

New use

Education

This site: …a school campus newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Retrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported
Strategy	Redeveloped · ReinhabitedWikipedia no source
New uses	educationWikipedia no source
What is there now	a school campusnewtypes-extraction reported
Retrofit year	2018newtypes-extraction reported

Site context

Housing permits, Lake County (IL), 2024	485 units in 5+ unit buildings, 26 in 2–4, 531 single-family; 2023: 204 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby	1 within 10 km, 6 within 25 km: Lakehurst Mall (5.8 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	36,521 jobs in 1,853 establishments; average annual pay $55,136; employment location quotient 1.13; employment +0.3% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	6,588 jobs; 51 in retail trade, 156 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 17097862200)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 34th income percentile as adults; 5.3% incarcerated at the 2010 count (654 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 0% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 26.8%; median family income $51,618; 279 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 (PK-12); 6 public schools within 1 mile: Robert E Abbott Middle School; Miguel Juarez Middle School; Andrew Cooke Magnet Elem School; Carman-Buckner Elem SchoolNCES EDGE
Elevation	647 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	255 county-logged events: 132 thunderstorm wind, 62 hail, 19 flood, 18 flash flood; $12,800,500 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 60085, 2026-09	median list price $250,000 (-0.7% on the year); 31 active listings; median 35 days on market; 16% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	2,098 establishments (-10%); 33,701 jobs (-12%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $398,052 (+6% 1 yr, +36% 5 yr); typical rent $2,255/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	5,806 vehicles a day on Bobby E Thompson Expwy (freeway or expressway, 4 lanes); 345 trucks; 11 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Former Kmart store in Waukegan, IL (built 2018) was retrofitted into an education campus (CRSM school), confirmed by events. The site now hosts a school campus with gym, fitness center, and classrooms per 2021 event.

Why. Retrofit already built (opp_score 0.0). Median rent $1,434 cited as reason for low opportunity score.

Where it stands. Located on Bobby E Thompson Expwy (freeway, 4 lanes, 5,806 ADT) with 11 road segments within 600m. Within 5.8km of demolished Lakehurst Mall (10km cluster).

For a planner

Adjacent demolished mall (Lakehurst) may affect regional retail dynamics.
Traffic data confirms high-volume corridor access.

For a developer

No current tenant details beyond 'school campus' (no lease terms or occupancy).
Median rent figure provided but no current financials or vacancy rates.

What we do not know yet

No current tenant name, lease terms, or occupancy rate.
Housing market data (ZHVI $398k) not directly relevant to site use.
Peer mall scores (e.g., Randhurst) not applicable to this site’s status.

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Randhurst Mall, Mount Prospect, IL · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in IL; 32 km away
St Charles Mall, St Charles, IL · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in IL
Forest Park Mall, Forest Park, IL · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in IL
Megamall, Chicago, IL · Malls · same strategy: redevelop; also in IL

Elsewhere on the web

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

retrofit already built
median rent $1,434

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Anchors	Kmart
County	Lake County
Census division	3 · East North Central
Notes	Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: A former Kmart store in Waukegan, Illinois was extensively remodeled and reinhabited as a school campus for Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep in 2018.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer. Know it? Tell us.

Timeline

2018 CRSM moved into a former Kmart store that was extensively remodeled to become a school campus.
2018 Retrofit: redevelop, reinhabit
2021 The second remodeling phase ended, and the school then had a gym, fitness center, coffee shop, and more classrooms.

Sources

Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep · CC BY-SA 4.0
3 quoted sentences
a former Kmart store
In 2018, CRSM moved into a former Kmart store that was extensively remodeled to become a school campus.
The second remodeling phase ended in 2021, and the school then had a gym, fitness center, coffee shop, and more classrooms, and an enrollment of 408 students.

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Former Kmart store, Waukegan, IL." Record n-f3650c430a, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/big-box/il/waukegan-former-kmart-store/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_waukeganformerkmartstore,
  title = {Former Kmart store, Waukegan, IL},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/big-box/il/waukegan-former-kmart-store/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-f3650c430a, release 2026-10-20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

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