Gurnee Mills

===Development and opening===

===Development and opening===

The [[Western Development Corporation]] first announced its plans to build a super-regional shopping center in [[Lake County, Illinois]] in 1988. The plan was to annex 324 acres of unincorporated land near the intersection of the [[Interstate 94 in Illinois|Tri-State Tollway]] and [[Illinois Route 132|Grand Avenue]], on which the mall would be built, into the village of Gurnee. "Gurnee Mills" would become the fourth mall in Western Development's "Landmark Mills" chain, after [[Potomac Mills]], which opened in 1985, and [[Franklin Mall|Franklin Mills]] and [[Sawgrass Mills]], which were under construction at the time. Western Development later completed a [[corporate spin-off]] itself [[The Mills Corporation]] after its malls in 1994.Urban Land Institute. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oMU0RE32DmUC&pg=PA178 "The Mills"], ''Shopping Centers and Other Retail Properties: Investment, Development, Financing, and Management'', John Wiley & Sons, 1996. Local residents were concerned that the mall would steal customers from small local businesses and existing malls like Waukegan's nearby [[Lakehurst Mall]] and the [[Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets]],Vander Weele, Maribeth. [https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1988/04-26/page-53 "Mall plan attracts criticism"], ''Daily Herald Suburban Chicago,'' April 26, 1988. while Western Development was worried that Gurnee was too small to handle the construction project, despite the success of [[Six Flags Great America]] down the road.Sanchez Olson, Yadira. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/news/ct-lns-gurnee-mills-anniversary-st-0809-st-20160808-story.html "1991 time capsule opened as Gurnee Mills marks 25th anniversary"], Lake County News-Sun, August 8, 2016. The [[Cambridge, MA]]-based [[CambridgeSeven]] was selected as the lead architect{{cite web|url=https://kb.kelso-burnett.com/portfolio/gurnee-mills/#:~:text=6170%20Grand%20Avenue%2C%20Gurnee%2C%20IL,on%20this%20large%2Dscale%20project.|website=KelsoBurnett|title=Gurnee Mills}}, while Rory McCarthy Design handled the interior.{{cite web|url=https://rorymccarthydesign.com/ugurnee-mills-mallubremgurnee-il-1990em/#:~:text=Rory%20McCarthy%20Design%20%C2%BB%20Gurnee%20Mills%20MallGurnee%2C%20IL%201990|website=Rory McCarthy Design|title=Gurnee Mills}}

The [[Western Development Corporation]] first announced its plans to build a super-regional shopping center in [[Lake County, Illinois]] in 1988. The plan was to annex 324 acres of unincorporated land near the intersection of the [[Interstate 94 in Illinois|Tri-State Tollway]] and [[Illinois Route 132|Grand Avenue]], on which the mall would be built, into the village of Gurnee. Gurnee Mills would become the fourth mall in Western Development's Landmark Mills chain, after [[Potomac Mills]], which opened in September 1985, and [[Franklin Mall|Franklin Mills]] and [[Sawgrass Mills]], which were under construction at the time. Western Development later completed a [[corporate spin-off]] itself [[The Mills Corporation]] after its malls in 1994.Urban Land Institute. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oMU0RE32DmUC&pg=PA178 "The Mills"], ''Shopping Centers and Other Retail Properties: Investment, Development, Financing, and Management'', John Wiley & Sons, 1996. Local residents were concerned that the mall would steal customers from small local businesses and existing malls like Waukegan's nearby [[Lakehurst Mall]] and the [[Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets]],Vander Weele, Maribeth. [https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1988/04-26/page-53 "Mall plan attracts criticism"], ''Daily Herald Suburban Chicago,'' April 26, 1988. while Western Development was worried that Gurnee was too small to handle the construction project, despite the success of [[Six Flags Great America]] down the road.Sanchez Olson, Yadira. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/news/ct-lns-gurnee-mills-anniversary-st-0809-st-20160808-story.html "1991 time capsule opened as Gurnee Mills marks 25th anniversary"], Lake County News-Sun, August 8, 2016. The [[Cambridge, MA]]-based [[CambridgeSeven]] was selected as the lead architect{{cite web|url=https://kb.kelso-burnett.com/portfolio/gurnee-mills/#:~:text=6170%20Grand%20Avenue%2C%20Gurnee%2C%20IL,on%20this%20large%2Dscale%20project.|website=KelsoBurnett|title=Gurnee Mills}}, while Rory McCarthy Design handled the interior.{{cite web|url=https://rorymccarthydesign.com/ugurnee-mills-mallubremgurnee-il-1990em/#:~:text=Rory%20McCarthy%20Design%20%C2%BB%20Gurnee%20Mills%20MallGurnee%2C%20IL%201990|website=Rory McCarthy Design|title=Gurnee Mills}}

Construction on the mall, which was projected to cost $160 million, began with a groundbreaking ceremony on July 19, 1989. By this time, plans had been expanded and the construction site consisted of 422 acres of farm fields and wetlands.Vander Weele, Maribeth. [https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1989/07-19/page-96 "Construction starts today on giant Gurnee Mills mall"], ''Daily Herald Suburban Chicago,'' July 19, 1989. At the ceremony, four anchor retailers were announced: [[Sears Outlet]], [[Reading China and Glass]], [[Phar-Mor]], and the Gurnee Mills Family Entertainment Center, a children's amusement area modeled after the 49th Street Galleria in Salt Lake City.[https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1989/07-20/page-284 "Gurnee mall tagged as off-price dream"], ''Daily Herald Suburban Chicago,'' July 20, 1989.Kerch, Steve. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/04/01/shop-and-bop-set-for-gurnee/ "Shop And 'Bop' Set For Gurnee"], ''[[Chicago Tribune]],'' April 1, 1990. A total of 1.6 million hours of work went into the construction process, which took 25 months.

Construction on the mall, which was projected to cost $160 million, began with a groundbreaking ceremony on July 19, 1989. By this time, plans had been expanded and the construction site consisted of 422 acres of farm fields and wetlands.Vander Weele, Maribeth. [https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1989/07-19/page-96 "Construction starts today on giant Gurnee Mills mall"], ''Daily Herald Suburban Chicago,'' July 19, 1989. At the ceremony, four anchor retailers were announced: [[Sears Outlet]], [[Reading China and Glass]], [[Phar-Mor]], and the Gurnee Mills Family Entertainment Center, a children's amusement area modeled after the 49th Street Galleria in Salt Lake City.[https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/illinois/arlington-heights/daily-herald-suburban-chicago/1989/07-20/page-284 "Gurnee mall tagged as off-price dream"], ''Daily Herald Suburban Chicago,'' July 20, 1989.Kerch, Steve. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/04/01/shop-and-bop-set-for-gurnee/ "Shop And 'Bop' Set For Gurnee"], ''[[Chicago Tribune]],'' April 1, 1990. A total of 1.6 million hours of work went into the construction process, which took 25 months.