Village Crossing Shopping Center

Village Crossing Shopping Center, commonly called Village Crossing, is a regional shopping center situated along Touhy Avenue, also designated Illinois Route 72, near the border between Skokie and Niles, Illinois. The center is a large-format, convenience-oriented retail destination combining grocery, specialty retail, home-improvement and craft merchandise, consumer electronics, sporting goods, pet supplies, and entertainment. Its principal anchors include Jewel-Osco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Michaels, Best Buy, and an 18-screen AMC Theatres cinema. The center is reported to host approximately 57 retail stores and serves both nearby residents and automobile-oriented shoppers from the broader northern Chicago suburbs. The property was developed on a former 63-acre industrial site associated with AT&T and the Teletype Corporation. AT&T announced in 1987 that the Teletype facility would close and that its roughly 1,000 employees would be transferred to another facility in Naperville. After nearly three decades of operation, the industrial complex closed later that year. The redevelopment converted a major employment and manufacturing site into a suburban retail and entertainment complex, reflecting the wider transformation of industrial land in the Chicago metropolitan area during the late twentieth century. The Trammell Crow Company acquired the site for an undisclosed amount and began construction in early 1988. Much of the former industrial structure was removed to make way for retail buildings, surface parking, and a reported 500,000-square-foot parking garage. The first phase included a 65,000-square-foot Jewel-Osco grocery store and a 112,000-square-foot Montgomery Ward department store. The center opened in 1989 and subsequently developed into a multi-tenant destination rather than a single-department-store-led mall. Entertainment became an additional component of the property when Crown Theaters Village Crossing 18 opened in 2001. Crown Theaters was acquired by Kerasotes in 2007, and Kerasotes was subsequently acquired by AMC in 2011, placing the cinema under the AMC Theatres banner. Montgomery Ward, one of the original anchors, closed in 2001 following the retailer’s bankruptcy. The later tenant mix is centered on durable everyday needs and destination retail, with grocery and general merchandise complemented by specialty stores and cinema entertainment. Village Crossing is best understood as a regional shopping-center property rather than a conventional consumer-goods brand. Its identity is tied to location, anchor tenants, accessibility, and the adaptive reuse of a former industrial site. Publicly available reference material identifies the center’s major tenants and development history but does not establish a current owner, operating company, official corporate website, financial results, or a separately reported executive team.

Village Crossing Shopping Center occupies a 63-acre site on Touhy Avenue, or Illinois Route 72, near the municipal boundary of Skokie and Niles in Illinois. Before its retail redevelopment, the property was used by AT&T and the Teletype Corporation as an industrial facility. The plant operated for nearly 30 years and was a significant local employment site. In 1987, AT&T announced that the Teletype operation would close and that approximately 1,000 employees would be transferred to a facility in Naperville. The plant formally closed later in the same year. The closure made a large industrial tract available for redevelopment and created the setting for a substantial change in land use, from telecommunications manufacturing and related industrial activity to suburban retail and entertainment. The Trammell Crow Company acquired the property for an undisclosed sum and commenced construction in early 1988. The redevelopment involved demolishing many of the former industrial structures and replacing them with retail buildings, extensive parking, and a reported 500,000-square-foot parking garage. The plan was oriented toward automobile access and large-format tenants rather than a traditional enclosed shopping mall arrangement. Village Crossing opened in 1989. Its early anchor lineup included a 65,000-square-foot Jewel-Osco supermarket and a 112,000-square-foot Montgomery Ward department store. These anchors gave the center both recurring grocery traffic and broad general-merchandise appeal. Montgomery Ward later closed in 2001 as a result of the retailer’s bankruptcy, while the shopping center continued operating with a broader collection of tenants. The property added a major entertainment use in 2001 when Crown Theaters Village Crossing 18 opened. The cinema’s operating history followed changes in the theater industry: Crown Theaters was acquired by Kerasotes in 2007, and AMC acquired Kerasotes in 2011. The multiplex consequently became associated with AMC Theatres. The center’s reported tenant mix includes 57 retail stores and anchors such as Jewel-Osco, Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Michaels, Best Buy, and the 18-screen AMC cinema. This combination positions Village Crossing as a regional, car-oriented shopping destination serving routine household needs, specialty shopping, and leisure visits. Available reference material does not identify a current owner, a dedicated management company, financial performance, or named executives. It also does not provide a confirmed official website, so those fields remain unspecified.

• 2011

  Kerasotes was acquired by AMC

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The multiplex entered the AMC Theatres network through AMC’s acquisition of Kerasotes.

• 2007

  Crown Theaters was acquired by Kerasotes

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The cinema operator became part of Kerasotes.

• 2001

  Montgomery Ward closed

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  The original Montgomery Ward anchor shut down following the retailer’s bankruptcy.

• 2001

  Village Crossing 18 cinema opened

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Crown Theaters opened an 18-screen multiplex at the center.

• 1989

  Shopping center opened

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Village Crossing opened with Jewel-Osco and Montgomery Ward among its initial anchor stores.

• 1988

  Retail redevelopment construction began

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Trammell Crow Company began construction of the shopping center on the former industrial site.

• 1987

  AT&T announced the closure of the Teletype facility

  [1]Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  AT&T announced that the industrial facility would close and that roughly 1,000 employees would move to another facility in Naperville.

A suburban regional shopping center focused on grocery, everyday retail, specialty destination stores, and multiplex entertainment for communities in and around Skokie and Niles.

• Supermarket and grocery retail · 1989

  Jewel-Osco

  Jewel-Osco is one of Village Crossing’s original and principal anchors. Its supermarket format provides groceries, household necessities, prepared foods, and related everyday merchandise, generating frequent visits and serving the center’s local-neighborhood function.

• Sporting goods retail

  Dick’s Sporting Goods

  Dick’s Sporting Goods represents the center’s destination-oriented sporting-goods offer, with merchandise generally spanning athletic apparel, footwear, equipment, outdoor recreation, and team-sports needs.

• Pet supplies and services

  PetSmart

  PetSmart adds pet-focused shopping to the tenant mix, including food, accessories, supplies, and related services. Its presence broadens Village Crossing’s recurring household-needs proposition beyond grocery and general retail.

• Arts, crafts, and hobby retail

  Michaels

  Michaels serves arts-and-crafts, do-it-yourself, seasonal, and hobby demand. As a specialty anchor, it contributes a destination-shopping element distinct from the center’s grocery, electronics, and sporting-goods tenants.

• Consumer electronics retail

  Best Buy

  Best Buy provides consumer electronics and technology retail, including categories such as computers, entertainment hardware, appliances, and related accessories. It is one of the center’s large-format specialty anchors.

• Cinema entertainment · 2001

  AMC Theatres Village Crossing 18

  The 18-screen multiplex began as Crown Theaters Village Crossing 18 in 2001. Following Kerasotes’ acquisition of Crown Theaters and AMC’s later acquisition of Kerasotes, the cinema became part of the AMC Theatres network and functions as Village Crossing’s principal entertainment offering.

• 2001

  Addition of an 18-screen multiplexProduct launch

  Background

  The shopping center expanded its mix beyond retail and grocery anchors.

  Action taken

  Crown Theaters opened Village Crossing 18, an 18-screen cinema.

  Aftermath

  The cinema later changed operating affiliations through Kerasotes and AMC acquisitions.

  Source

• 1988

  Redevelopment of the former Teletype industrial siteStrategy

  Background

  The closure of AT&T’s Teletype facility left a large industrial tract available near the Skokie–Niles border.

  Action taken

  Trammell Crow Company converted the property into a regional shopping center with retail buildings, extensive parking, and a large parking garage.

  Aftermath

  The project opened in 1989 and replaced a former industrial employment site with a multi-tenant retail and entertainment destination.

  Source

1. 1Village Crossing Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org