In a retail landscape where many traditional anchor tenants are downsizing or closing their doors, malls are thinking outside the box when it comes to making the best use of the available space. So when two anchor tenants, Lord & Taylor and Sears, closed their doors in Oakbrook Center, the mall decided to take advantage of the opportunity to bring in new entertainment options and increase their experiential offerings. Brookfield Properties turned to Henderson Engineers to support this redevelopment and retrofit the existing building systems for flexibility with future tenants.

One of the major challenges within the three-story building that formerly housed Sears involved keeping two existing tenants on the second level open for business while the rest of the building underwent major renovation and reconstruction. Through careful design and phasing, Henderson successfully redeveloped the second and third level for new uses. The second level conversion created five multi-tenant spaces in addition to the existing two. The roof of level three was raised and a large shell space was created for KidZania, an 80,000 SF interactive learning center for kids.

Prior to our design, we initially met with the owner to discuss their goals and vision of the space and created the MEPF criteria for the spaces. The Lord & Taylor space will be split into multi-tenants consisting of retail, office, and restaurant. We designed and ensured each tenant space had sufficient electrical service, coordinated utility space requirements, and reworked existing utilities for each space.

Since 2011, Oakbrook Center has made consistent reinvestments to transform their space into a unique lifestyle center for Chicagoland. By the time KidZania opens, the shopping center will have converted more than 20 percent of their square footage to entertainment space, showcasing Oakbrook Center’s dedication towards a first-class experience in the ever-changing retail landscape.

Location

Oak Brook, IL

Project Size

Approx. 230,000 SF

Services

Electrical, Fire & Life Safety, Mechanical, Plumbing



RELATED PROJECTS



View Select General Merchandise Projects


Professional engineering services in the state of New York, Michigan, and North Carolina are provided by HNY Consulting Engineers.