The Sears space in the Orland Square Mall – all 200,000 square feet of it – has been empty for seven years.
But the Orland Park Village Board took a couple of first steps at its March 17 meeting to rectify that.
If all goes well, Dick’s Sporting Goods will move into the facility in 2026.
There is some red tape and the possibility of a Tax Increment Financing district coming into play, but Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau said Dick’s wants in and that the company is willing to leave its 80,000-square-foot facility at 1 Orland Park Place to move to the 200,000-square foot monster that housed Sears.
“Everyone should be excited about this,” Pekau said. “It’s a fantastic store and it’s going to be a great addition. It’s fantastic news for Orland Park.”
Prior to COVID, AMC Theaters were interested in filling the Sears space but those plans fell through when the pandemic hit and severely hurt the movie industry.
Since then, it’s been a battle to draw interest in the site.
“Filling Sears is extremely difficult,” Pekau said. “And to get someone who wants to take that whole space is great. It’s much easier to fill the existing Dick’s when they leave.”
Pekau pointed out that this will be big for the mall.
“As you know, our mall is very successful,” Pekau said. “It’s in the top 1% traffic malls in the country even with the Sears parcel. This will improve mall traffic by 30%.
“Even half of that would be amazing.”
Meanwhile, the March 17 decisions to consult SB Friedman Development Advisors for a possible TIF and passing an Orland Square Mall inducement resolution in case a TIF goes through are the first steps in bringing Dick’s to the mall.
The other concern is that the mall has to make room for storm water issues.
“The mall has no capacity for stormwater,” Pekau said. “It also has a huge parking lot which is not needed. We would like to build a pond to not only beautify the parking lot but to hold the water necessary for future developments around the mall as well as the mall itself.”
143rd Street project
During the board’s Committee of the Whole meeting, a presentation was made for a nearly $10 million project for improvements at the 143rd Street and John Humphrey Drive intersection, which includes bridge improvements. The project is expected to receive $4.8 million in grants.
No formal action was taken, but the project could start in 2025 and last until 2026.
Pekau said this project has been in the works since 2012.
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