Malls · Illinois

Lakehurst Mall

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedRegreenedDemolishedWaukegan, IL

Opened 1971. Redeveloped · Regreened in 2004.

Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed

documented

closed in 2001... demolished in 2004

en.wikipedia.org

What it becamemixed, housingextracted, unreviewed reported

Site size200 acresextracted, unreviewed

documented

In December 1968, 200 acres... purchased from Thomas E. Wilson/Edellyn Farms for $2 million

en.wikipedia.org

Last sale$2.0M · 1968public reporting

Retrofit year2004extracted, unreviewed reported

Walkability13.7 of 20 · 15-minute 4 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD

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Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.

Lakehurst Mall. Photo: Jonrev at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile12 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

Carson Pirie Scott

This site: Carson Pirie Scott wikipedia · all sites with this

JCPenney

This site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this

Place

County typical rent $2,000+

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

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 2 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

High tornado risk

This site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this

Tract house prices doubled in 10 years

This site: +104% fhfa · all sites with this

Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)

This site: …index 13.7 epa-walkability · all sites with this

Scale

60+ acre site

This site: 200 acres extraction · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: …mixed-use housing extraction · all sites with this

Regreened

This site: …mixed-use housing extraction · all sites with this

New use

Housing

This site: …mixed-use housing extraction · all sites with this

Mixed use

This site: …mixed-use housing extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documented closed in 2001... demolished in 2004 en.wikipedia.org
Strategy	Redeveloped · Regreenedextracted, unreviewed documented closed in 2001... demolished in 2004 en.wikipedia.org
New uses	mixed, housingextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there now	mixed-use housingextracted, unreviewed documented closed in 2001... demolished in 2004 en.wikipedia.org
Retrofit year	2004extracted, unreviewed reported

Planning

Zoning change	suburbiaextracted, unreviewed documented five-year research project... one of the fastest developing areas of the Midwest en.wikipedia.org
Entitlement year	1969extracted, unreviewed reported

Deals and debt

Date	Event	Price	Parties	Source
1968	Sold	$2.0M closed	Waukegan, Illinois ← Thomas E. Wilson/Edellyn Farms	Wikipedia

Site context

FEMA flood zone	X · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	12: CHASE BANK; CHICK-FIL-A WAUKEGAN; FAMILY PRIDE CLEANERS; FOUNTAIN SQUARE MALL; LAKEHURST MALLEPA FRS
Census tract 17097861504	9,271 people, 3,270 per sq mi; median household income $80,471; median gross rent $1,560; 49% renters; 3.3% vacant units; 1.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 13.7 of 20; 38 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 266 m; land-use mix 0.8; 132,867 jobs within 45 min by car, 19,763 by transit; 12% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	4 of 6 daily needs: 2 grocers, 0 schools, 1 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 1 civic, 17 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 48 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	noHUD
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
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.70; socioeconomic 0.58; housing and transport 0.67; 9% below 150% of poverty; 0% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby	1 within 10 km, 6 within 25 km: Former Kmart store (5.8 km)computed
Overture Maps	no place match; building footprint 6,968 m², 9.66210651397705 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views	55,435 since 2015; 3,464 in the last 12 months (-15% vs the prior 12); peak 2018-12 with 696Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023	population +21% (7,687 → 9,271); median income +34% ($59,844 → $80,471); renters 51% → 49%; median home value +37% ($134,800 → $184,100)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	relatively moderate overall (score 57.6); expected annual loss $2.4M; high: tornado, strong wind, cold wave; community resilience relatively highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	noneHUD LIHTC
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	6,859 jobs; 802 in retail trade, 512 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 17097861504)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 40th income percentile as adults; 2.4% incarcerated at the 2010 count (765 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; 4% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 14.6%; median family income $70,694; 341 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Warren Township High School District 121 (09-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation	718 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
House price index, tract, 2025	231 (2000 = 100); +9.3% 1 yr, +53% 5 yr, +104% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	28,978 vehicles a day on Belvidere Rd (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 2,150 trucks; 30 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Lakehurst Mall opened in 1971 with 85 stores and anchors JCPenney, Wieboldt's, and Carson Pirie Scott. After Wieboldt's closed in 1986, the mall lost tenants, fell to fewer than five by 2000, closed in 2001, and was demolished in 2004. The site is now noted for planned mixed‑use housing.

Why. The record shows the loss of an anchor store (Wieboldt's) and a steady decline in tenancy as the primary reasons for the mall’s closure and demolition. No explicit debt or competition factors are cited.

Where it stands. The mall was demolished in 2004 and the after‑notes indicate the site is slated for mixed‑use housing, though post‑demolition control is not specified in the record.

For a planner

Redevelop/regreen strategy listed in the record suggests a policy intent to repurpose the site.
Entitlement granted in 1969 and a zoning change to suburbia show early land‑use approvals.
Open questions include the exact housing program, affordability targets, and needed infrastructure upgrades.

For a developer

200‑acre site offers large scale for development.
City of Waukegan held title until 2004; post‑demolition control is unspecified.
Entitlement from 1969 and a redevelop/regreen strategy indicate pre‑approved reuse potential.
Median rent $1,434 and planned housing signal rental market interest; flood, transit, and environmental constraints are not detailed in the record.

What we do not know yet

Post‑demolition ownership and current controlling entity are not stated in the record.
Details of the mixed‑use housing program (unit count, affordability, phasing) are missing.
Environmental constraints such as flood risk, soil conditions, or nearby transit are not described.
The record is marked as ‘draft’ verified status, indicating some facts may be model‑extracted and unreviewed.
Specific demolition costs or any remaining debt on the site are not provided.

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

Rolling Acres Mall, Akron, OH · Malls · similar size (260 acres); opened 1975; same strategy: redevelop
Echelon Mall, Voorhees, NJ · Malls · similar size (200 acres); opened 1970; same strategy: redevelop
Former Sears Headquarters, Hoffman Estates, IL · Office parks · similar size (273 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in IL
Logistics Campus, Glenview, IL · Office parks · similar size (232 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in IL

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Lakehurst Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™ : Lakehurst ... drloihjournal.blogspot.com
Lakehurst Mall of Waukegan, Illinois web.archive.org
Lakehurst Mall In Waukegan, IL Opene… bestattractions.org
Lakehurst Mall: the Life & Death of “The Livelier Place” – the jonrev ... jonrev.com

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

Multifamily screen

retrofit already built
closed or demolished site (sourced)
200 acres
median rent $1,434
housing in the record

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

Opened	1971Wikidata
Acres	200extracted, unreviewed documented In December 1968, 200 acres... purchased from Thomas E. Wilson/Edellyn Farms for $2 million en.wikipedia.org
Stores at peak	85extracted, unreviewed reported
Original developer	Sidney H. Morris and Associates of Chicago and Gruen Associates of Los Angelesextracted, unreviewed documented The mall was designed by Sidney H. Morris and Associates of Chicago and Gruen Associates of Los Angeles en.wikipedia.org
Anchors	JCPenney, Carson Pirie Scott, Dunham's Sports, Wieboldt's
Organisations in Wikidata (undated)	Richard Jacobs
County	Lake County
Census division	3 · East North Central
Notes	Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Lakehurst Mall was a shopping mall in Waukegan, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall officially opened in 1971. The mall's anchor stores were JCPenney, Wieboldt's, and Carson Pirie Scott. After Wieboldt's closed in 1986, its former location was divided between Montgomery Ward and Dunham's Sports. The mall declined in the 1990s, closed in 2001, and was demolished in 2004.

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

Timeline

1968 land purchased
1969 construction started
1970 85% leased
1971 Opened (Wikidata)
1971 opened
1986 Wieboldt's closed
2000 fewer than 5 tenants
2001 closed
2004 demolished

Sources

Wikipedia: Lakehurst Mall · supports: acres, after notes, original developer, status, strategy, zoning change
14 quoted sentences
In December 1968, 200 acres... purchased from Thomas E. Wilson/Edellyn Farms for $2 million
The mall was designed by Sidney H. Morris and Associates of Chicago and Gruen Associates of Los Angeles
closed in 2001... demolished in 2004
closed in 2001... demolished in 2004

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Lakehurst Mall, Waukegan, IL." Record m-bd42d92514, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/il/waukegan-lakehurst-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_waukeganlakehurstmall,
  title = {Lakehurst Mall, Waukegan, IL},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/il/waukegan-lakehurst-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-bd42d92514, 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}
}

How to cite, versioning