Retrofit Atlas

Malls · Illinois

Old Chicago

Imported, unreviewedDemolishedBolingbrook, IL

Old Chicago opened 1975 as a mall‑amusement hybrid, closed 1981, demolished 1986, and Amazon bought the site in 2020 today. · summary, model-written

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Site profile10 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Finance and pipeline
Closed or demolished, no retrofit recordedThis site: …demolished extraction · all sites with this
Place
30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent roadThis site: 121,000 on Barack Obama Presidential Expressway fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 12 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $2,374/mo zillow · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 2 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High inland flooding riskThis site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this
High natural hazard risk (FEMA NRI)This site: Relatively High; tornado, inland flooding, cold wave fema-nri · all sites with this
High tornado riskThis site: Very High fema-nri · all sites with this
High-income tract ($100k+)This site: $101,537 census-acs · all sites with this
Interstate or freeway within 600 mThis site: Barack Obama Presidential Expressway fhwa-hpms · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
What is there nowformer Old Chicago mega mall siteextracted, unreviewed

Securitised debt and public filers

Filings (2001 to date) that name “Old Chicago” and “Bolingbrook” (22 hits, first 22 sampled, 3 other filers such as tenants left out). Only weak matches to commercial-mortgage trusts: the mall may have backed a securitised loan, or may just be mentioned in the filing; several trusts usually means one loan split into pari-passu notes. Earliest trust filing in the sample 2007-12-13 (a sample date, not the issuance date); candidate loan vintage 2007 from the trust name (weak match). Whether the loan is still in the pool, in special servicing or repaid is in the trust's monthly distribution reports, which are not searchable here. Text matches, not a title search. Open the search · all trusts.

KindFilerFilingsDatesForms
CMBS trust (weak)Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2007-IQ1642007-12-13 to 2008-02-018-K/A 2, 8-K 2
CMBS trust (weak)UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2017-C322017-08-31 to 2017-08-318-K 2
CMBS trust (weak)UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust 2017-C212017-09-06 to 2017-09-068-K 1
CMBS trust (weak)CSAIL 2017-CX9 Commercial Mortgage Trust12017-09-29 to 2017-09-298-K 1
Public owner (weak)DUKE REALTY CORP62017-02-17 to 2022-02-1810-K 6
Public owner (weak)DUKE REALTY Ltd PARTNERSHIP/62017-02-17 to 2022-02-1810-K 6
Public owner (weak)NATIONAL RETAIL PROPERTIES, INC. (NNN)42017-02-13 to 2020-02-1110-K 4
Public owner (weak)Prologis, Inc. (PLD, PLDGP)12023-02-14 to 2023-02-1410-K 1
Public owner (weak)Prologis, L.P.12023-02-14 to 2023-02-1410-K 1
Public owner (weak)FF-TSY Holding CO II, LLC12007-03-30 to 2007-03-3010-K 1

Site context

FEMA flood zoneX · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m14: AKZO NOBEL POLYMER CHEMICALS; AMAZON.COM SVCS LLC; ARENA AUTO AUCTION INC; BP AMOCO; CARCARE COLLISION CENTERSEPA FRS
Census tract 171978802024,931 people, 439 per sq mi; median household income $101,537; median gross rent $1,641; 4% renters; 4.4% vacant units; 2.6% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 10.5 of 20; 58 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 945 m; land-use mix 0.57; 196,926 jobs within 45 min by car, 23,595 by transit; 8% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)2 of 6 daily needs: 2 grocers, 0 schools, 0 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 0 civic, 2 food and drink; 12 cycleway segments, 50 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Will County (IL), 2024530 units in 5+ unit buildings, 8 in 2–4, 1,464 single-family; 2023: 29 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.36; socioeconomic 0.58; housing and transport 0.04; 9% below 150% of poverty; 2% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby0 within 10 km, 6 within 25 kmcomputed
Overture Mapsno place match; building footprint 15,327 m², 6.195091247558594 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views228,575 since 2015; 13,641 in the last 12 months (-26% vs the prior 12); peak 2020-02 with 8,559Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population +18% (4,190 → 4,931); median income +50% ($67,500 → $101,537); renters 17% → 4%; median home value +37% ($164,500 → $225,000)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)relatively high overall (score 90.2); expected annual loss $4.0M; high: tornado, inland flooding, cold wave; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,669 establishments (+4%); 31,419 jobs (+13%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $376,285 (+3% 1 yr, +29% 5 yr); typical rent $2,374/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025293 (2000 = 100); +8.6% 1 yr, +49% 5 yr, +98% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)121,000 vehicles a day on Barack Obama Presidential Expressway (Interstate, 6 lanes); 15,150 trucks; 25 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Old Chicago opened in 1975 as a combined shopping mall and indoor amusement park in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Financial troubles, competition from a new amusement park, and lack of anchor stores led to its closure in 1981, and the building was demolished in 1986. Amazon purchased the former site in 2020.

Why. The record cites construction cost overruns, the opening of a competing amusement park in Chicago's north suburbs, and the absence of large anchor stores as reasons for the mall's decline.

Where it stands. The mall was demolished in 1986 and, as of 2020, Amazon acquired the former Old Chicago site, giving Amazon control of the land.

For a planner

  • Precedent: early indoor amusement park‑mall hybrid model.
  • Policy tools used: property auction and subsequent sale to new owners.
  • Open questions: what future development Amazon will pursue on the site (not stated in record).

For a developer

  • Site size: not stated in record.
  • Current control: Amazon (post‑2020 purchase).
  • Entitlement stage: not stated; no zoning or approval details provided.
  • Context constraints: flood risk, transit access, environmental conditions not recorded.
  • Market signals: tract‑level rent or demographic data not provided.

What we do not know yet

  • Exact parcel dimensions and land area are missing.
  • Current zoning, land use approvals, and entitlement status are unknown.
  • Floodplain, wetlands, or other environmental constraints are not recorded.
  • Transit proximity and accessibility details are absent.
  • Amazon’s intended use or development plans for the site are not disclosed.
  • The record’s verification status is draft, and some fields (opp_score, opp_reasons) are model‑extracted and unreviewed.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT 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

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

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

Multifamily screen

  • closed or demolished site (sourced)
  • median rent $1,413

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

Opened1975extracted, unreviewed
Closed1981extracted, unreviewed
CountyWill County
Census division3 · East North Central
NotesWikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

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

Background

Old Chicago was a combination shopping mall and indoor amusement park that existed in the southwest Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, Illinois from 1975 until 1980. It was billed as "The world's first indoor amusement park", and it was intended to draw visitors all year round, rain or shine. It opened to great fanfare and over 15,000 visitors on June 17, 1975, with an enormous building that housed major rides, such as three roller coasters and a Ferris wheel, as well as a turn-of-the-century-themed shopping mall with design reminiscent of the architecture of Louis Sullivan, such as his work for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. However, only six months after opening, the complex ran into financial troubles due to construction cost overruns. The opening of a competing amusement park in Chicago's north suburbs hurt attendance, and the lack of large anchor stores failed to draw enough local and repeat shoppers. Despite management changes, the center continued to lose money. By 1978, the mall began closing on Mondays and Tuesdays, and in early 1980 the entire amusement park shut down and the rides were sold, only five years after opening. Efforts to find alternative uses for the huge building failed, and the structure was demolished in the spring of 1986.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1975 Opened
  2. 1977 Illinois Central took control
  3. 1980 Amusement park shut down
  4. 1981 Mall closed
  5. 1982 Building put up for auction
  6. 1985 Sold to C.L. Carr
  7. 1986 Demolished
  8. 2020 Amazon purchased site

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Old Chicago · supports: after notes, status, year closed, year opened
    12 quoted sentences
    Old Chicago was opened to the public on June 17, 1975, in a grand opening party that attracted over 10,000 invited guests.
    The plan didn't attract investors and the mall closed in August 1981.
    On January 21, 2020, Amazon paid $50.5 million for the former Old Chicago mega mall site.
    the building was demolished in the spring of 1986.

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