Oak Brook may not have a downtown, but it does have a place where people gather, enjoy the scenery, attend cultural events and shop: Oakbrook Center.
Mall manager Richard C. Fleming cites several reasons for the center’s success: the confluence of expressways, six upscale department stores not found in any other single location, an array of specialty stores and a mix of fine restaurants.
“Combine that with the outdoor ambience–the floral arrangements, the parklike atmosphere–and I think you start to see that there are several components that make us a success,” he said.
With an occupancy rate of 98 percent and total sales of $700 million in 1998 (from its six department stores and 160 specialty shops, and its restaurants and movie theaters) that success has the center riding high in this time of economic prosperity.
About 10 million cars bringing 25 million shoppers visited the mall in 1998, with almost 7 million of those cars coming during the holiday rush of the last quarter. Mall tenants estimate that 40 to 60 percent of their annual sales come during the holiday season.
The mall management briefly considered enclosing the center in 1990 before undertaking a 210,000-square-foot expansion completed in 1991, Fleming said. “We found that the community didn’t want it and our shoppers didn’t want it. What makes Oakbrook different is the fact that we plant 125,000 tulips, 130,000 summer annuals and 75,000 fall mums.”
The white brick and marble buildings are surrounded by greenery and eight fountains or pools. A landscape maintenance crew of 20 cares for more than 3,200 trees (2,500 of them evergreens) and the public gardens. The mall draws garden clubs from Downstate, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.
“We are close to Morton Arboretum, and we often are one of the stops for visitors headed there who want to see what a (well-planned) urban landscape could look like,” said Suzanne Beres, the center’s marketing manager, who gives information packets on tours and accommodations to visitors.
“We have a tourism program that not only attracts consumers from the Chicago area, but attracts tourists from other cities, other states. We make their visit to DuPage County and the south suburbs more than just a one-day stop,” Beres said.
The program is called Spree Ultimate Shopping Excursions, a travel planning service that helps business travelers, vacationers, groups traveling by motor coach and conventioneers incorporate shopping into their trips. A free Spree card entitles consumers to discounts at participating retail stores and hotels, attractions, museums, restaurants and spas. A card-holder may call a number and speak with counselors who provide information on stores–what merchandise they carry, their business hours, etc.–and answer questions on hotels, museums and attractions in the area.
Other Chicago-area shopping centers that participate are Water Tower Place and 900 North Michigan Shops, both in Chicago, and Old Orchard in Skokie. The Spree card also is honored at Copley Place in Boston; San Francisco Centre in San Francisco; MainPlace in Orange County, Calif.; Citrus Park Town Center in Tampa; and Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis.
The center, at Illinois Highway 83 and 22nd Street, opened with 20 stores in 1962, when shopping centers were an innovation in retailing. The oldest anchors are Sears and Marshall Field’s, both of which opened that year. The newest is Nordstrom, which opened as part of the 1991 expansion. Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus complete the list of department stores.
The center is owned by Urban Retail Properties Co., a property management, leasing and development company headquartered in Chicago that manages malls and shopping centers in 25 states and the District of Columbia.
The 1991 expansion was the last of four; previous ones were in 1973, 1981 and 1987. In addition to the stores, restaurants and movie theaters, the center has two general office buildings and one professional office building.
The success of Oakbrook Center and other businesses in Oak Brook enables them to pay approximately $11 million a year in sales tax to the community, said Stephen Veitch, Oak Brook village manager.
“That is from all places, all sources,” Veitch said. “While the makeup changes from year to year, my estimate is that somewhere in the area of half of that comes from Oakbrook Center.” The largess from sales tax, which provides about 70 percent of the village’s general fund, makes it unnecessary to levy a property tax.
The center also provides entertainment; three programs are held annually. The Annual Classic Car Show on Father’s Day brings in families, history buffs and auto enthusiasts from throughout the world. Last year the event–a tradition for 31 years–attracted more than 75,000 visitors.
In July the center holds its Invitational Craft Exhibition, and in September, the Invitational Fine Art Exhibition, with artists exhibiting their works over two days. Both are juried shows that attract 130,000 to 145,000 visitors. Both also have been held at Oakbrook for more than 35 years.
The center’s goal is to provide an experience that is more than simply making a purchase, Beres said. “We feel shopping is a form of entertainment,” she said. She cited specialty shops such as Build-A-Bear Workshop, an interactive store for children where they may select materials and help create a teddy bear, cat or other animal. Other stores have cafes or sound systems that add to the shopping experience. “They are upbeat; they provide excitement,” she said.
Suzanne Streitberger of Villa Park shops at Oakbrook Center frequently, especially during the Christmas season. The wife and mother of three works at a title company in Wheaton. Her favorite stores are Marshall Field’s, Gantos and Pottery Barn.
“I like Marshall Field’s. They have great sales and the staff is very helpful. The customer service is very good. Gantos has a good selection of professional and casual wear for people in my age group. It’s stylish and looks nice.” Pottery Barn has trendy housewares that she enjoys looking at. “Sometimes I go myself or with a friend. On several occasions, we’ve all gone–the kids sit outside. It’s so nice in the courtyard.”
The elegance and beauty at Oakbrook Center make an impression, she said. “If I want to go to Oakbrook, I dress a little bit nicer,” she said. “Oakbrook is very upscale and everyone dresses up there.”
Streitberger said Oakbrook is sometimes a destination even when shopping is not a goal. “I have talked to people who just go there to look; they don’t shop. I have a friend who will say, `Let’s go to Oakbrook and walk around.’ “
Pianists, cafes and fine merchandise notwithstanding, customer service is the reason that Oakbrook’s Nordstrom is one of the top performers in the chain, said Danielle Danna, store manager. “We’ve got a lot of relationships here we’ve built with customers,” she said. “Our reputation is built by the effort that our sales staff puts forth. I look at that reputation as a crystal vase that we’re carrying. We take it very humbly.”
The store has a yearlong remodeling project under way, begun in October, that will reclaim 20,000 square feet of office space for merchandise. “We want to provide a retail experience that is theatrical and inviting,” Danna said.
The store employs 936 people and contributes to local organizations such as the Elmhurst Symphony and the Glen Ellyn Children’s Choir. The store also sponsors a fundraiser for Brookfield Zoo with an annual holiday shopping night. Each year, the store closes early one day for attendees of the event, who dine, listen to music and shop. “We raised $35,000 for the zoo in November,” Danna said.
Thirty-five employees participate on a customer service board that promotes volunteerism with such agencies as local food pantries and the Salvation Army.
Manager Fleming does not see e-commerce undermining shopping centers.
“There is a certain segment of the populace that will want to buy on-line, but those are the people who used to buy by catalog,” he said.
Not wanting to be left behind by the potential of cyberspace, the center is exploring options to offer Internet shopping possibilities, perhaps through computers at the site. It has a Web site (www.oakbrookcenter.com) that provides a mall directory and information on store hours, directions and special events.
“But there will always be a need for shopping centers, because shopping, particularly here at Oakbrook, is definitely more than just the purchases,” Fleming said. “It’s an experience.”
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For more information on Oakbrook Center, call 630-573-0700.
