Food, Fun and Family Entertainment With A Fresh New Perspective!

ECD brings "CityPark" To Lincolnshire, Illinois

Scott Greenberg is reinventing the concept of suburban development at CityPark in Lincolnshire, Illinois by infusing an urban ambience into a carefully designed synthesis of cultural, entertainment, and commercial amenities located at a highly-visible corner in one of the nation's wealthiest suburban communities. The $70 million, 47-acre project is a perfect complement to the critical mass of retail, office, and residential development along the affluent North Shore suburbs of Chicago, including Deerfield, Buffalo Grove, Riverwoods, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Long Grove and Vernon Hills.

It is hard to imagine a better environment for such a development. CityPark combines the strength of large daytime office employment in the immediate vicinity, with a surrounding large residential population with upscale demographics and considerable disposable income for entertainment options in the area. Within a seven-mile radius are nearly 400,000 people with an average household income of over $100,000 and the vast majority of home values over $200,000. Over 72 percent of the adult population are college-educated, most with families.

"CityPark is certainly a fresh retail design that combines the energy of an urban setting with a familiar environment," says Greenberg. "Our approach is to aim for an exciting leisure-based retail; it will mix the best specialty stores in music, books, and sporting goods with an offering of diverse cuisines available anytime of the day."

Lincolnshire is located in booming Lake County, with newly relocated Fortune 100 companies and surging commercial development within a few blocks: over 2 million square feet. currently under construction in a sub-market that contains 14 million square feet, with 500,000 square feet absorbed in each of the last three years.

The current day-time office population is over 200,000 day-timers in a five-mile radius which will continue to growth with the 3,000,000 square feet of additional class-A office space under development, 1,500,000 of which is immediately adjacent to CityPark.

"What is interesting about this project is that it provides the excitement of Chicago but closer to home," says David Young of the Lake County Partnership for Economic Development, a private, non-profit organization. "As well, there is great attention paid to design and the impact of the project on the traffic and local services in the surrounding communities, which is always appreciated. Economically speaking, CityPark will be a sales tax generator. It's a very positive development, a "win/win" for Lake County.

"We are building

a center that provides for leisure and entertainment that match the sophistication and growth of this community," says Greenberg, and he intends CityPark to be the focal point of that sophistication. The flexible overall design by Aria Architects is a cluster of freestanding buildings that blend traditional but distinctive elements (hipped roofs, portals, and arcades) with modern architectural techniques (expensive glass, contrasting roof elevations, and promenades) to create a singular energy. We are bringing the activity and lifestyle of an upscale city square into an accessible suburban location. CityPark will be a strolling streetscape of destination stores and venues wherein each tenant has a distinct identity within an uncommonly distinguished setting. It contains a range of building scales that is both large and intimate, appropriate to their use varied like a changing landscape offering surprises at each turn."

Located at the intersection of Milwaukee and Aptakisic roads, CityPark is sited so that tenants have a dual-street exposure to over 50,000 cars per day as well as direct identity from the parking lot.

Moreover, because each building is individual, tenants can plan within a flexible program of design. "Our goal is to make tenants successful not only with location but also design," says Greenberg. "This is not a monolithic program where we squeeze in tenants where we have space. Our plan is based on flexibility so that tenants will create the space in the way they want to express their identity.

"Were not selling just dinner and a movie," says Greenberg. "We're selling an experience that makes people want to leave home for an extended day trip or an evening out to a destination place. Repeat business from couples and families. That is the energy of CityPark."

The tenant mix follows the theme. Instead of a single anchor, CityPark is developed on a premise of a particular harmony among larger and smaller tenants whose common denominator is quality and uniqueness. Taken together, such a mix draws patrons to spend quality time at CityPark. Even in its early stage, it is already experiencing a strong attraction in a 10-15 mile radius as well as regional customers from 25-30 miles, including southern Wisconsin (on the north) and from Chicago (on the south).

CityPark has attracted the flagship of Regal Cinemas, a 20-screen complex with stadium seating and audiophile sound; but it features the extraordinary IMAX© theater with the revolutionary 3-D IMAX© technology. The latter different from all others because it is a wide-screen theater that seats only 300 for an intensified experience instead of 400 at venues such as Chicago's Navy Pier and Museum of Science and Industry. It also contains gourmet cafe serving various coffee drinks, tea, and freshly baked goods.

As well, Lettuce Entertain You, with a 25-year history for successful locations and innovative restaurant concepts, has opened its first suburban Big Bowl restaurant at CityPark, a pan-Asian selection of cuisine at lunch and dinner with the signature attention to design and ambience.

"We are extremely pleased with our results at CityPark," says Kevin Brown, vice president of Lettuce Entertain You, Inc. "Big Bowl has had excellent business since opening day, and we are very confident of the potential. CityPark attracts, and will continue to attract, people who are looking for fine dining in a casual atmosphere."

The trademark market knowledge is also in evidence at Wildfire, Lettuce's premier wood roasting steak and chop house. "Wildfire is a more formal atmosphere", says Brown, "Blending them together gives people the opportunity for quality dining in different cuisines." Both restaurants are intended for more sophisticated dining, with Wildfire accommodating business meetings and similar functions.

We've reached a point where suburban development must do more than simply provide convenient amenities," says Greenberg. "Developers have to provide them in an atmosphere that is not only accessible but also fresh and attuned to today's consumers especially those in an upscale market such as ours. Entertainment options are key in movies (entertainment, art films, action/adventure), live music (rock, jazz, reggae, blues), and live performance (stand-up comedy and theater)." Greenberg adds he is discussing options with several notable club operators to create "just the right mix".

Greenberg believes there is a tendency among developers to appease mainstream, traditional department stores that lease large amounts of space simply to fill a center. "Were looking for a different synergy where visitors can count on something different each time they come to CityPark," he adds. "From the more ambitious architecture to the lively mix of arts, entertainment, shopping and dining that is exciting and dynamic. It's a distinctly different attitude in development, and it will attract tenants who share that vision.

That vision also includes quality accommodations for destination and business travelers. The Hampton Inn & Suites at CityPark, a 117-room residential-style hotel that caters to individuals and families with a full slate of amenities including a fitness center, pool, and meeting rooms and hospitality suite. "What makes this such a strategic hotel," Greenberg says, "is that it's located within the development and is a generator for the variety of retail offerings because it maintains the constant flow of people through the evening. Moreover, it adds to the convenience of CityPark as a destination."

Back to Press Release Page