Westfield Fox Valley
A large enclosed regional shopping mall in Aurora, Illinois, historically operated under the Westfield Fox Valley name.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Westfield Fox Valley is the former Westfield identity of Fox Valley Mall, an enclosed regional shopping center in Aurora, Illinois. The property occupies a prominent retail location along Illinois Route 59 between U.S. Route 34 and East New York Street/West Aurora Avenue, serving Aurora, Naperville, and surrounding communities in the western Chicago metropolitan area. It is a shopping-center property rather than a conventional consumer-product brand, with its identity expressed through the mall name, tenant mix, public spaces, dining offer, entertainment facilities, and redevelopment program. The mall was developed as Fox Valley Center through a joint venture involving the Urban Investment and Development Company and Homart Development Company. The approximately 1.5-million-square-foot enclosed center was completed and opened on July 30, 1975, after Sears and Marshall Field's began operating in February of that year. At opening, the complex was planned for roughly 160 shops and services. JCPenney joined in 1977, and Lord & Taylor opened later that year, giving the center a department-store-led regional format typical of major suburban American malls of the period. During the late twentieth century, the mall became part of a broader commercial district marketed alongside residential and office development under the Fox Valley Villages concept. Additional retail properties were subsequently built near the mall, including New York Square in 1989 and Fox Valley Commons in 1990. These nearby developments expanded the area into a wider shopping destination rather than leaving Fox Valley Center as an isolated enclosed mall. The Westfield Group acquired the shopping center in 2002. Following the acquisition, the Fox Valley Center identity and signage were replaced by Westfield branding, initially using the name Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Valley. The word “Shoppingtown” was dropped in 2005, leaving Westfield Fox Valley as the principal public-facing name. Westfield also carried out a substantial renovation, including changes to the mall’s interior landscaping and common areas. Marshall Field’s was converted to Macy’s in 2006 after the broader department-store rebranding. The property later experienced major anchor-store turnover. Carson’s, which had occupied the former Lord & Taylor location, closed in August 2018 after the bankruptcy and liquidation of its parent company, The Bon-Ton. Sears closed in September 2018 as part of a nationwide store-reduction program. Those departures left Macy’s and JCPenney as the remaining traditional department-store anchors identified in the reference material. Entertainment and food uses became increasingly important to the tenant mix, including Round One, which opened in 2017 in the former Sears wing, as well as restaurants and other specialty retailers such as H&M and Forever 21. Westfield sold an 80 percent interest in the property in December 2015. After that transaction, the center returned to the Fox Valley Mall name and Westfield signs were removed. Later redevelopment sought to reposition the aging mall around experience, gathering spaces, and mixed-use uses. Center Park opened around Thanksgiving 2019 in a previously underused central courtyard, adding green space, seating, artwork, and community-oriented amenities. A two-level, approximately 8,000-square-foot treehouse-style addition began construction in 2020. Demolition of the former Sears structure began in late 2020 as part of the Fox Valley Mall 2.0 redevelopment plan, which also contemplated luxury apartments and additional amenities. Although the property is still commonly associated with its former Westfield branding, the authoritative subject is Fox Valley Mall. Its current identity is best understood as a regional shopping and entertainment destination whose value proposition combines national department stores, specialty retail, restaurants, family entertainment, public gathering areas, and redevelopment-led mixed-use programming.
History
Fox Valley Mall originated as Fox Valley Center, a joint venture between the Urban Investment and Development Company and Homart Development Company. The enclosed mall was completed and opened on July 30, 1975, with approximately 1.5 million square feet of space and room for about 160 shops and services. Sears and Marshall Field’s had opened before the formal mall opening, on February 18, 1975. JCPenney opened on April 6, 1977, and Lord & Taylor followed on August 7 of the same year. The department-store lineup established the property as a major regional destination for the rapidly developing western suburbs of Chicago. The surrounding district was promoted in connection with residential and office development under the Fox Valley Villages concept. Nearby retail expansion continued with the construction of New York Square in 1989 and Fox Valley Commons in 1990. These projects helped create a broader retail corridor along Route 59, with the enclosed mall functioning as its principal regional center. A separate, much larger shopping-center proposal south of the mall was discussed in 1979 but was never developed. The Westfield Group bought Fox Valley Center in 2002. The acquisition brought a major change in branding: the original Fox Valley Center signs and logo were replaced by Westfield’s standardized identity. The property was initially called Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Valley, but the Shoppingtown element was removed in June 2005. Westfield also conducted the first extensive renovation in the mall’s history, changing the interior common areas and removing much of the large garden and plant landscaping that had characterized the original design. Marshall Field’s became Macy’s in 2006. The center’s tenant composition changed significantly during the 2010s. A Tilted Kilt Bar & Grill opened in 2009, followed by Tony Sacco’s Pizza and Books-A-Million in 2012. A Chick-fil-A opened outside the mall in 2010. Round One opened in 2017 in the former Sears wing, strengthening the entertainment component of the property. Ownership also changed: Westfield sold an 80 percent interest in the mall in December 2015. Following the transaction, the property returned to the Fox Valley Mall name and Westfield signage was removed. Anchor contraction became a central issue in 2018. Carson’s, which had replaced Lord & Taylor in the 1990s, closed on August 29 after The Bon-Ton’s failure and liquidation. Sears announced that its store would close as part of a national program and completed the closure on September 2. The departures left Macy’s and JCPenney as the remaining traditional anchors listed in the reference material. A temporary Halloween City operation occupied the former Sears space during the 2019 Halloween season. The later strategy focused on experience, public space, and mixed-use redevelopment. Center Park opened around Thanksgiving 2019 in a formerly underused central courtyard, adding landscaped open space, seating, artwork, and other amenities. Construction began in early 2020 on a two-level, approximately 8,000-square-foot treehouse-style structure intended to connect Center Park with the mall and provide another gathering space. In late fall 2020, demolition of the abandoned Sears building began as part of the Fox Valley Mall 2.0 redevelopment plan. That plan included luxury apartments and other amenities, reflecting the broader shift among regional malls toward mixed-use environments and non-retail traffic generators. The mall’s historical names therefore reflect successive operating and ownership phases: Fox Valley Center during its original development, Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Valley and Westfield Fox Valley during the Westfield period, and Fox Valley Mall after the majority-interest transaction and rebranding. The property remains an active Aurora shopping and entertainment destination, although its precise current ownership structure and tenant roster require verification beyond the supplied reference material.
- 2020
Fox Valley Mall 2.0 work begins
[1]A treehouse-style addition and demolition of the former Sears structure marked the next phase of a mixed-use redevelopment program.
- 2019
Center Park opens
[1]The mall converted an underused central courtyard into a landscaped public gathering area.
- 2018
Carson’s and Sears close
[1]The mall lost both Carson’s and Sears, leaving Macy’s and JCPenney as the listed remaining department-store anchors.
- 2017
Round One opens
[1]Round One Entertainment opened in the former Sears wing.
- 2015
Westfield sells an 80 percent interest
[1]Westfield sold an 80 percent interest in the mall, after which the property returned to Fox Valley Mall signage.
- 2005
Westfield Shoppingtown name is shortened
[1]The Shoppingtown wording was dropped, leaving Westfield Fox Valley as the shorter operating identity.
- 2002
Westfield acquires the center
[1]The Westfield Group purchased Fox Valley Center and began a new branding and renovation phase.
- 1996
Carson Pirie Scott replaces Lord & Taylor
[1]After Lord & Taylor closed in February, Carson Pirie Scott opened in the location on November 2.
- 1990
Fox Valley Commons opens
[1]Another nearby shopping center expanded the Route 59 retail corridor around Fox Valley.
- 1989
New York Square is developed nearby
[1]A neighboring shopping center opened outside the mall district, adding Kohl’s and other retail uses.
Products and positioning
Regional enclosed shopping, dining, entertainment, and community destination serving the western Chicago suburbs.
Shopping-center property · 1975
Regional enclosed mall
The core offering is a large enclosed shopping environment combining department stores, specialty shops, dining, services, and interior common areas. The property was designed as a regional destination rather than a neighborhood convenience center, with a substantial parking supply and a location on the Route 59 commercial corridor.
Department stores · 1975
Department-store anchors
Department stores have historically provided the mall’s principal traffic generators. The original and later anchor lineup included Sears, Marshall Field’s, Macy’s, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, and Carson’s. Based on the supplied reference, Macy’s and JCPenney remained the identified traditional anchors after the 2018 closures of Carson’s and Sears.
Fashion and general merchandise · 1975
Specialty retail
The center’s specialty-retail mix has included national fashion and lifestyle tenants such as H&M and Forever 21, alongside changing assortments of shops and services. These stores complement the department stores and help position the mall as a broad shopping destination for the surrounding suburbs.
Restaurants · 2009
Dining and food services
Dining has become an increasingly visible part of the property’s offer. Reference materials identify Tilted Kilt Bar & Grill, Tony Sacco’s Pizza, and an exterior Chick-fil-A among the food operators introduced during the 2000s and 2010s, in addition to other changing mall and surrounding-district restaurants.
Entertainment · 2017
Round One Entertainment
Round One opened in 2017 in the former Sears wing, adding an entertainment-led use to the mall. Its presence illustrates the property’s shift toward combining retail with activities intended to generate longer visits and appeal to families and groups.
Public space and placemaking · 2019
Center Park
Center Park is a redesigned central gathering area featuring green space, seating, artwork, and related amenities. Opened in 2019, it repurposed an underused courtyard and supported the mall’s repositioning around community use and experiential visits.
Brand decisions
2020
Fox Valley Mall 2.0 redevelopmentStrategyBackground
Anchor vacancies and changing retail patterns created a need to reposition portions of the property.
Action taken
Construction began on a two-level treehouse-style gathering structure, and demolition of the former Sears building advanced a plan involving apartments and additional amenities.
Aftermath
The mall moved toward a mixed-use and experience-led format, although the supplied material does not establish the final scope or completion status of all planned elements.
2019
Center Park placemaking programStrategyBackground
The mall sought to activate underused interior space and make the property more useful as a social destination.
Action taken
A central courtyard was transformed into Center Park with landscaping, seating, artwork, and gathering amenities.
Aftermath
The project formed part of a broader shift toward experiential and community-oriented mall programming.
2015
Sale of an 80 percent interestM&ABackground
Westfield changed its economic interest in the property in December 2015.
Action taken
Westfield sold an 80 percent interest in the mall.
Aftermath
The property removed Westfield signage and returned to the Fox Valley Mall identity.
2006
Marshall Field’s conversion to Macy’sStrategyBackground
Marshall Field’s was converted as part of Macy’s broader integration and national branding program.
Action taken
The Fox Valley department store adopted the Macy’s name.
Aftermath
Macy’s became one of the mall’s continuing department-store anchors.
2002
Westfield acquisition and rebrandM&ABackground
Fox Valley Center entered a new ownership and operating phase when the Westfield Group acquired the property.
Action taken
Westfield replaced the prior Fox Valley Center branding with its own mall identity and undertook a substantial interior renovation.
Aftermath
The property operated for several years as Westfield Shoppingtown Fox Valley and later as Westfield Fox Valley.
Sources2 sources
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