Bradley mall’s future to be determined?

What could be left when the dust clears at the Northfield Square mall and its surrounding acreage?

While there has been speculation and conversations as to what the property will be transformed into next to the planned 2-acre indoor water park, no clear plan has been brought forward.

With about 500,000 square feet to consider and more than 50 acres surrounding it, the ideas could be endless.

The village of Bradley administration is working to get something more concrete.

The six-member village board and Mayor Mike Watson are seeking more clarity.

The board hired Wight & Company, a Chicago-based design, engineering and construction services firm, to help bring focus to the property’s potential future.

For $45,500, the village board on Monday approved the contract by a 5-0 vote. One trustee, Gene Jordan, was not in attendance.

The contract is to have Wight & Company produce an economic vision and a conceptual plan for Northfield Square. The project is to take three months, meaning it should be delivered to the administration and board by mid-October.

James Mark, Wight managing director, attended Monday’s meeting. He briefly addressed the board regarding the plan.

He noted he recently toured the mall property and surrounding area. He told the administration he was impressed due to what is planned with the proposed water park, as well as the new 315 Sports Park complex and lodging and retail area within this general area.

After the board meeting, Mark explained that he would deliver a concept that the village can market.

“This is a vibrant area. This is a regional mall that has to be reinvented,” he said, with the ultimate goal of finding those who want to invest here. “There is potential in this property.”

Opened in August 1990, the Edward DeBartolo-owned complex never captured the area. It was opened at a time when indoor malls were beginning to fall out of favor with shoppers.

Opened with the anchor tenants of Carson Pirie Scott, JCPenney, Sears and Venture, the mall was most often at least 30% vacant.

Following a series of ownership groups, the village of Bradley in February purchased the entire property for $6.5 million from Namdar Realty Group of Great Neck, N.Y.

The Cinemark Movies 10 theater is owned separately.

In his correspondence with the village regarding the mall property, Mark wrote that finalizing the indoor water park’s exact location on the mall property is an urgent task.

The Watson administration is seeking a report that narrows the main elements for the mall property and adjacent properties.

In short, the report will be an important tool to help the village reach key decisions for the mall property.

“This document will be used to share with your stakeholders to demonstrate design interventions that can create a 21st-century destination experience while being cost-effective,” Mark wrote.

Mark noted to the village that a “branded vision” can unite a community around a common goal and can sustain civic will over time to “bring compelling plans to life.”

He labeled this tactic as Community Economic Visioning.

He said the visioning quickly produces a document bringing the opportunity of Bradley’s new Entertainment District in front of developers and investors, “creating regional buzz, and coalescing community support for the future development.”

Wight plans to prepare an overall master concept plan diagram, including potential land use, community program elements, open space and public infrastructure needs.

A mall spine – meaning the central core of the mall – will be developed to indicate program and planning opportunities.