Shopping mall slated for Chicago’s South Loop stalls out

Despite the South Loop’s current construction boom, it appears that a five-story shopping mall proposed for the corner of Jefferson and Taylor won’t be moving forward after all. Located not far from major retail developments such as The Maxwell, Southgate Market, and a recently opened Portillo’s, the site was granted an $18 million construction permit in August of last year. No work has occurred since.

According to public records, the owner listed on the permit—an entity named Jaytee LLC—filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. More recently, a post from South Loop neighborhood blog Sloopin reported the site in question now sports a ‘for sale’ sign—further proof that a shiny new mall won’t be rising there any time soon.

Google Street View

The website also reported the presence of a similar sign at the site of a long-discussed apartment proposal in the South Loop’s Printer’s Row neighborhood—suggesting that the project was in jeopardy. It’s too early to tell if these stalled projects are simply isolated incidents of bad luck on the part of their respective developers or an indicator of the hot South Loop beginning to cool.

At this time, momentum is still very much on the side of the downtown neighborhood. The multi-phase Riverline project is already under construction while early preparations continue for Helmut Jahn’s 74-story luxury condo tower and Related Midwest’s sprawling 62-acre “78” mixed-use development.

• Retail Complex at NE Corner of Jefferson/Taylor Apparently Dead [Sloopin]
• Developer receives official go ahead to dig in for new South Loop mall [Curbed Chicago]
• Previous South Loop coverage [Curbed Chicago]