Malls · Wisconsin

Northridge Mall

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedDemolishedMilwaukee, WI

Opened 1973. Closed 2003. Redeveloped.

Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed

documented

The mall's demolition was completed in September 2025.

en.wikipedia.org

What it becamehousingextracted, unreviewed reported

Site size58 acresextracted, unreviewed

documented

the 58 acres (23 ha) of land the mall occupied remained vacant

en.wikipedia.org

Retrofit yearNot yet retrofittedstatus reported

Walkability15.5 of 20 · 15-minute 6 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap

Rail within 800 mNo · Opportunity ZoneOpenStreetMap, 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.

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Site profile22 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors

JCPenney

This site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this

Sears

This site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this

Younkers

This site: Younkers wikipedia · all sites with this

Finance and pipeline

Attention fading (Wikipedia views −40% y/y)

This site: 8,093 views, -46% wikimedia · all sites with this

On Facebook

This site: …https://www.facebook.com/133241446714154 overture · all sites with this

Website alive

This site: …http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=8914961 overture / http check · all sites with this

Place

15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)

This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this

200+ tax-credit housing units within 1 km

This site: 580 units in 4 properties hud-lihtc · all sites with this

Grocery within 800 m

This site: 1 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this

High heat wave risk

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

High social vulnerability tract (SVI ≥ 0.75)

This site: 0.90 cdc-svi · all sites with this

Lower-income tract (< $50k)

This site: $27,466 census-acs · all sites with this

Opportunity Zone

This site: 55079000101 hud-oz · all sites with this

Renter-majority tract

This site: 78% census-acs · all sites with this

Shrinking county

This site: -2.8% census-acs · all sites with this

Tract house prices doubled in 10 years

This site: +103% fhfa · all sites with this

Tract income flat or down since 2013

This site: +0% census-acs · all sites with this

Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)

This site: …index 15.5 epa-walkability · all sites with this

Policy tool

Affordable housing credits

This site: …grant Affordable housing was planned to be built on the site and was currently under extraction · all sites with this

Public grant or loan

This site: …grant Affordable housing was planned to be built on the site and extraction · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: …vacant land extraction · all sites with this

New use

Housing

This site: …vacant land Affordable housing was planned to be built on the site and was currently under extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documented The mall's demolition was completed in September 2025. en.wikipedia.org
Strategy	Redevelopedextracted, unreviewed documented Affordable housing was planned to be built on the site and was currently under development. en.wikipedia.org
New uses	housingextracted, unreviewed reported
What is there now	vacant landextracted, unreviewed documented As of 2026, the 58 acres (23 ha) of land the mall occupied remained vacant. en.wikipedia.org
Redeveloper	U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Grouphermes-web reported

Planning

Public purchase or subsidy	grantextracted, unreviewed documented On December 8, 2023, Governor Tony Evers granted the City of Milwaukee $15 million to demolish the mall. en.wikipedia.org
Planning notes	Affordable housing was planned to be built on the site and was currently under development.extracted, unreviewed reported

Site context

Transit within 800 m	no rail stationOpenStreetMap
Motorway junctions within 2 km	junctionOpenStreetMap
FEMA flood zone	no NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m	4: FIRESTONE STORE 29WK; MOBIL OIL INC (STATION NO 05-FDI); NORTHRIDGE BANK BLDG; RITZ CAMERA 402EPA FRS
Census tract 55079000101	4,815 people, 3,267 per sq mi; median household income $27,466; median gross rent $891; 78% renters; 15.0% vacant units; 10.7% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)	index 15.5 of 20; 96 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 531 m; land-use mix 0.77; 97,792 jobs within 45 min by car, 23,767 by transit; 58% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)	6 of 6 daily needs: 1 grocers, 1 schools, 3 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 1 civic, 6 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 36 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zone	yes, tract 55079000101 (rural)HUD
Housing permits, Milwaukee County (WI), 2024	788 units in 5+ unit buildings, 28 in 2–4, 189 single-family; 2023: 976 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)	overall percentile 0.90; socioeconomic 0.62; housing and transport 0.99; 55% below 150% of poverty; 32% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby	0 within 10 km, 7 within 25 kmcomputed
Overture Maps	place Northridge Mall (Milwaukee) (shopping_mall, confidence 0.83, from Overture, Overture-signals, meta); building footprint 19,389 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and social	en.wikipedia.org (alive); archived 2003–2025 (Wayback) · social: facebookOverture / Internet Archive
Attention: Wikipedia page views	56,246 since 2015; 8,093 in the last 12 months (-46% vs the prior 12); peak 2023-11 with 3,814Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023	population -9% (5,306 → 4,815); median income +0% ($27,421 → $27,466); renters 74% → 78%; median home value +16% ($117,500 → $136,400)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)	relatively moderate overall (score 72.5); expected annual loss $1.5M; high: heat wave, cold wave; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km	4 LIHTC properties, 580 units: White Birch Ii Apts (207 units); White Birch I Apts (151 units); Westridge Apartments (150 units)HUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	37,282 jobs in 2,465 establishments; average annual pay $38,321; employment location quotient 0.81; employment -0.9% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	1,476 jobs; 218 in retail trade, 168 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 55079000101)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 37th income percentile as adults; 5.1% incarcerated at the 2010 count (589 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	low-income, low-access tract (1 mile urban / 10 miles rural); 28% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 32.6%; median family income $51,069; 801 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Milwaukee School District (PK-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation	715 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	165 county-logged events: 69 hail, 57 thunderstorm wind, 16 flood, 11 flash flood; $66,841,500 property damage reported; 4 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 53223, 2026-09	median list price $218,000 (-6.2% on the year); 72 active listings; median 36 days on market; 17% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	2,482 establishments (-9%); 40,096 jobs (-2%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $286,344 (+4% 1 yr, +33% 5 yr); typical rent $1,507/mo (+5% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2024	322 (2000 = 100), +57% 5 yr, +103% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	9,219 vehicles a day on STH 181N (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 565 trucks; 16 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Opened in August 1972 by Taubman Centers with anchor stores JCPenney, Sears, Boston Store, and Gimbels (later Younkers). After years of decline the mall shuttered in 2003 and remained vacant; demolition orders were issued in 2019, approved 2020, and demolition of the Boston Store portion began in 2024, with the site cleared by 2025. Planning notes indicate affordable housing was planned and under development on the cleared land.

Why. not stated in the record

Where it stands. The site is demolished/vacant land, with ownership attributed to the City of Milwaukee (and previously U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group).

For a planner

Affordable housing planned with public grant subsidy per planning_notes.
Redevelopment strategy targeting housing use as indicated in strategy and new_use fields.
Open question: timing and completion of housing construction given demolition status and multiple ownership claims.

For a developer

Site size: 58 acres.
Control split among City of Milwaukee, U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group, and other parties per parties list.
Entitlement stage appears advanced (affordable housing under development) but constraints such as flood risk, transit access, and environmental conditions are not detailed in the record.

What we do not know yet

Causes of mall decline are not stated in the record.
Current ownership status after 2024 demolition is unclear (multiple parties listed).
Details on housing construction progress, financing, and timelines are missing.
Environmental constraints (floodplain, wetlands, contamination) are not provided in the record.
Data verification status is 'draft' indicating the record has not been reviewed for accuracy.

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

Mohawk Mall, Niskayuna, NY · Malls · similar size (50 acres); opened 1970; closed 2000
North Kent Mall, Northview, MI · Malls · similar size (70 acres); opened 1970; closed 2000
Salisbury Mall, Salisbury, MD · Malls · similar size (50 acres); opened 1968; closed 2004
Saratoga Mall, Wilton, NY · Malls · similar size (45 acres); opened 1973; closed 1999

Elsewhere on the web

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

Pages with photos

Northridge Mall memories : r/m… reddit.com
Northridge Mall mallsofamerica.blogspot.com
Photos capture the rise and fall of Milwaukee's Northridge Mall jsonline.com
Post by @deadmall80s · 4 images tumblr.com
What Happened to Northridge M… milwaukeemag.com
Urban spelunking: Take a last look inside the old Northridge Mall onmilwaukee.com

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

Multifamily screen

closed or demolished site (sourced)
58 acres
county shrank -2.8% 2018–23
housing in the record
public owner

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	1973Wikidata
Closed	2003extracted, unreviewed documented was shuttered in 2003 en.wikipedia.org
Acres	58.0extracted, unreviewed documented the 58 acres (23 ha) of land the mall occupied remained vacant en.wikipedia.org
Original developer	Taubman Centersextracted, unreviewed documented It was developed by Taubman Centers. en.wikipedia.org
Anchors	JCPenney, Sears, Younkers, Gimbels, Boston Store
County	Milwaukee County
Census division	3 · East North Central
Notes	Wikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

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

Background

Northridge Mall was a shopping mall located in the northern part of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that first opened in August 1972. It was developed by Taubman Centers. The mall's original anchor stores were JCPenney, Sears, Boston Store, and Gimbels. Gimbels was sold to Marshall Field's, then H. C. Prange Co., and finally Younkers. The mall underwent a period of decline and was shuttered in 2003, and remained vacant until it was demolished in 2025.

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

Timeline

1972 Grand opening
1973 Opened (Wikidata)
2003 Mall shuttered
2009 Value City furniture store closed
2013 Penzey announced plans to purchase mall
2014 Black Spruce retained ownership halting foreclosure
2018 Mall rented to MIR Tactical for airsoft event
2019 City issued demolition order
2020 Demolition order approved by judge
2022 Four arson fires occurred around mall
2024 Demolition of Boston Store portion began

Sources

found by hermes-web (staffboxfree) · supports: acres, after notes, original developer, public subsidy, status, strategy, year closed
23 quoted sentences
was shuttered in 2003
the 58 acres (23 ha) of land the mall occupied remained vacant
It was developed by Taubman Centers.
As of 2026, the 58 acres (23 ha) of land the mall occupied remained vacant.

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Northridge Mall, Milwaukee, WI." Record m-76b56535cf, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/wi/milwaukee-northridge-mall/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_milwaukeenorthridgemall,
  title = {Northridge Mall, Milwaukee, WI},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/wi/milwaukee-northridge-mall/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-76b56535cf, 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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