Renaissance Place

Renaissance Place is a mixed-use development and shopping center in downtown Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Conceived as one of the early examples of a new urbanist town-center project, it combines street-level retail with residential condominiums, office accommodation, a fine-arts movie theater, restaurants, and structured and surface parking. Rather than presenting a single uniform building, the development uses several structures and architectural treatments intended to reflect the historic character of its setting while accommodating contemporary commercial uses. The project opened in late 2007 and was master planned and designed by Suttle Mindlin, an international architecture and planning firm. Its design approach emphasized a walkable downtown environment, with shops and restaurants integrated into the existing urban fabric rather than isolated in a conventional suburban shopping mall. The project became part of Highland Park's downtown revitalization and was cited in Urban Land Institute publications on mixed-use development, town-center development, and place-making. These references positioned Renaissance Place as a case study in combining retail, housing, offices, entertainment, and public-facing streetscapes within a suburban downtown. Retail activity has included national apparel, home-furnishings, beauty, specialty, telecommunications, and lifestyle tenants. The center's listed retailers include Ann Taylor, Chico's, Talbots, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Sunglass Hut International, Francesca's Collections, Restoration Hardware, Back in Comfort, L'Occitane en Provence, JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, and Verizon Wireless. Food and beverage tenants have included Chipotle, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, and Rosebud Restaurant. Renaissance Place Cinema provides the entertainment component, while offices have housed financial, investment, real-estate, banking, and other professional-service occupants. The development's most prominent early anchor was Saks Fifth Avenue, which operated its third Illinois location at Renaissance Place. That store closed in December 2012, representing a significant tenant change, but the center continued to operate with a broader mix of retailers, services, restaurants, offices, residences, and cinema uses. Reference material describes occupancy as nearly complete, although tenant rosters can change over time. Renaissance Place is therefore best understood not as a conventional product brand, but as a place-based commercial and real-estate development whose identity is tied to downtown Highland Park's mixed-use regeneration.

Renaissance Place was developed as part of the revitalization of downtown Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb with an established historic urban core. Its planning concept followed the principles of new urbanism: a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented environment in which retail, restaurants, housing, offices, and entertainment are placed together within a connected downtown setting. The development was intended to complement, rather than disregard, the history and architectural character of the area. Suttle Mindlin served as the project's master planner and architectural designer. The firm used multiple buildings and varied architectural styles to give different portions of the development a context-sensitive appearance. This approach allowed the project to accommodate different commercial and residential functions while maintaining a more traditional town-center character than a standalone suburban mall. Retail spaces occupy the street level, with condominiums and offices above or alongside them. The project also includes a fine-arts cinema and parking located underground, at grade, and along the street. Renaissance Place opened in late 2007. Its design and development model received professional recognition through inclusion or discussion in Urban Land Institute handbooks covering mixed-use development, town-center development, and place-making. The cited publications appeared in 2002, 2003, and 2005, respectively, and treated the project as an example relevant to the planning of town centers, main streets, and urban villages. The early retail mix included Saks Fifth Avenue, which operated its third Illinois store at the site. Saks closed the location in December 2012, changing the center's anchor profile. Other retail occupants have included apparel stores such as Ann Taylor, Chico's, Talbots, Francesca's Collections, and JoS. A. Bank Clothiers; home and lifestyle retailers including Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and Restoration Hardware; and specialty tenants such as L'Occitane en Provence, Sunglass Hut International, Back in Comfort, and Verizon Wireless. Dining and leisure uses have included Rosebud Restaurant, Chipotle, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, and Renaissance Place Cinema. The development has also supported professional and commercial office users, including financial, investment, real-estate, banking, and related firms listed in reference material. Its mixed-use composition means that its function extends beyond shopping: it provides a downtown destination, a place to live, office space, dining, entertainment, and parking infrastructure. Reference material describes occupancy as almost 100 percent, although individual tenants and operating arrangements may change. Renaissance Place remains associated with Highland Park's downtown redevelopment and with the application of new-urbanist principles to a suburban commercial center.

• 2012

  Saks Fifth Avenue location closes

  [1]Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org

  The Saks Fifth Avenue store at Renaissance Place closed in December 2012.

• 2007

  Renaissance Place opens

  [1]Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org

  The mixed-use development opened in late 2007 in downtown Highland Park, Illinois.

• 2005

  Referenced in an Urban Land Institute mixed-use development handbook

  [1]Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org

  Renaissance Place was featured in an Urban Land Institute handbook on mixed-use development before its opening.

• 2003

  Referenced in an Urban Land Institute town-center handbook

  [1]Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org

  The development appeared in an Urban Land Institute handbook addressing town-center development.

• 2002

  Referenced in an Urban Land Institute place-making handbook

  [1]Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org

  Renaissance Place was included among the projects discussed in an Urban Land Institute handbook focused on place-making, town centers, main streets, and urban villages.

A walkable, architecturally contextualized mixed-use town center combining retail, dining, entertainment, offices, and residences in downtown Highland Park.

• Cinema and entertainment

  Renaissance Place Cinema

  A fine-arts movie theater integrated into the mixed-use development. The cinema provides an entertainment use alongside the center's retail, restaurant, residential, and office functions.

• Retail · 2007

  Street-level retail collection

  The development's retail component comprises street-level stores spanning apparel, home furnishings, beauty, accessories, specialty goods, and telecommunications. Listed tenants have included Ann Taylor, Chico's, Talbots, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware, L'Occitane en Provence, and Verizon Wireless.

• Restaurants and cafés · 2007

  Dining and beverage venues

  Restaurant and café uses complement the shopping and entertainment offer. Reference material lists Chipotle, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, and Rosebud Restaurant among the development's food and beverage occupants.

• Real estate · 2007

  Mixed-use residential and office space

  Above and alongside the retail spaces are condominiums and offices. Listed office occupants have included financial, investment, banking, real-estate, and other professional-service organizations, making the project a broader downtown district rather than a retail-only property.

• 2012

  Saks Fifth Avenue tenancy endsOther

  Background

  Saks Fifth Avenue had operated a prominent store at Renaissance Place and was identified as the retailer's third Illinois location.

  Action taken

  The Saks Fifth Avenue location closed in December 2012, ending the tenancy and altering the development's anchor-retail mix.

  Aftermath

  Renaissance Place continued with a multi-tenant mix of specialty retailers, restaurants, cinema, offices, and residences.

  Source

• 2012

  Saks Fifth Avenue closes its Renaissance Place location[1]Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Saks Fifth Avenue's Renaissance Place store in Highland Park closed in December 2012. The location had been the retailer's third store in Illinois and had served as a prominent anchor for the development.

1. 1Renaissance Place (mall)en.wikipedia.org