West Dundee will spend $3.5 million to raze Spring Hill Mall, with work expected to begin sometime in early 2025 and require about nine months to complete.
The West Dundee Village Board this week unanimously approved a contract with Carol Stream-based American Demolition Corp. to level the 44-year-old structure. Funding from the Spring Hill Mall TIF district will pay for the work, according to village documents.
Removal and proper disposal of any hazardous materials will begin as soon as possible, Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said.
With the exception of the Kohl’s store, which is in Carpentersville, and the Cinemark movie complex in West Dundee, both of which remain open, the bulk of mall closed to the public in March following its purchase by the village. Fencing to enclose the site went up in June.
“Access points to Kohl’s and Cinemark will remain intact and as is,” Cavallaro told the board at its Monday night meeting. “Our current understanding is they both will remain open during demolition,” he said.
West Dundee bought the main body of the mall in late April for $7 million from Kohan Retail Investment Group of Great Neck, New York. Previously, it purchased the anchor store occupied by Sears for $1.958 million and the former Macy’s anchor store for $1.21 million.
The site will be redeveloped by the village, likely with a mix of residential, commercial and office uses.
Demolition is to start first on the southeast side of the mall, where Sears and Macy’s had been located, and then will move north and west, Cavallaro said.
“This is necessary to provide the village’s structural engineer/architect with adequate time to coordinate the follow-up reconstruction project with Cinemark and Kohl’s real estate operations departments,” according to meeting documents.
The Cinemark and Kohl’s asphalt parking areas and sidewalks will be reconstructed once the demolition in that area is complete, the documents said.
In advance of finalizing take-down plans, the village worked with Obenauf Auction Service to organize the online sale of restaurant equipment, furniture, kiosks, safes, vending machines, electrical equipment and other items left inside the mall. Cavallaro said the auction, held Nov. 14 through Dec. 13, netted West Dundee about $12,000.
The village also will be removing two on-site generators from the mall property, which will be repurposed and used during emergency conditions or extended power outages, he said.
It’s expected that developers will come forward with plans for the property once it’s cleared, officials said.
“No one currently has but we expect to start receiving inquiries once the actual demo starts, so there is a reasonable understanding of an end date for a blank slate being available,” Cavallaro said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
