http://www.chicagobusiness.com/artic...UE01/310239984
Bank blocks buildout of Chicago's Block 37 retail mall
By: Eddie Baeb October 25, 2010
...One of the five banks in the property's lending group
won't agree to fund interior construction for five prospective tenants, including a movie theater and a health club that would fill out the top two levels and take the place of the gym and the theater that bailed out before the Loop complex opened last November.
...The five would-be tenants—
XSport Fitness, Studio Movie Grill, Adagio Teas and women's fashion shops
Eileen Fisher and Charming Charlie—would
occupy more than 85,000 square feet, bringing the four-level mall to 70% leased.
---
Where to begin...
- Adiago Teas - don't know much about them but looks OK
- Eileen Fisher - already mentioned, very good tenant to have
Then we move on to the others which belong in a stripmall or an old, dying mall*
*Block 37 is still new.
- XSport - cheap gym that already has another location on State. I still maintain that a gym won't add any vitality to the project or street, but if you're going to have one at least get something on the level of Equinox or David Barton.
- Charming Charlie - cheap jewelry/accessories store like Claire's. Enough said.
- Studio Movie Grill - cheap chain from suburban Texas. This thing is going to fail miserably in Chicago - website is junk, theaters looks dated, the seats are basically office chairs, no stadium seating, small screens. They really need to look for something better like Gold Class Cinemas or Muvico.
IMO the best option is to forget about leasing the 3rd floor to retailers because all you're going to get are useless gift shops or stores that last 6 months before closing. Take all of the space facing State Street and turn it into either an upscale gym or entertainment space (bowling, live theater, etc.) Fourth floor should be filled with the movie theater and other entertainment options.
In short, if they don't get better anchor tenants than X-Sport or Studio Movie Grill then I feel confident in saying that the mall portion of Block 37 is mostly a lost cause.