The 31-page report, prepared by a panel formed by the Urban Land Institute, offers a variety of solutions, from crime-control measures to new physical features, like a striking new bridge over Lake Shore Drive at the north end of the boulevard. The panel also recommends creating “a grand public common” stretching east from the Water Tower all the way to Lake Shore Drive. Read the report below.
For decades, the Magnificent Mile had been one of the top shopping destinations in the country, mentioned in the same sentence as Fifth Avenue in New York and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. But today, the boulevard offers little to differentiate itself from a shopping mall. Its current retail makeup is “too homogenous to sustain tourist draw,” the report says.
“Most retailers on North Michigan Avenue can be found in any sizable suburban mall, and merchandising is largely identical to what shoppers can find elsewhere, including online,” the report says. “Dining and entertainment options are also limited.”
Led by Alicia Berg, an assistant vice president at the University of Chicago and former Chicago planning commissioner, the 11-member ULI panel met for a two-day brainstorming session in late October and included local professionals in planning, architecture, law and real estate.
The panel’s report highlighted the importance of North Michigan Avenue to the Chicago economy, noting that in 2020, the sales tax drop for the zip code that includes the Mag Mile resulted in a 23% loss in the city’s total sales tax revenue that year.
The boulevard’s retail vacancy rate stands at 24.7%, down from 26% last year, but up from 12% in 2018, according to Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield. Two of its big vertical malls, Water Tower Place and the Shops at North Bridge, are struggling. North Bridge has lost so much value that an investor in the property recently transferred its stake to its partner and recorded a $28 million loss in the transaction.
The ULI panel interviewed 60 people as part of its research. When asked to identify their top concern about the district, each gave the same answer: Crime and public safety. Recent carjackings and smash-and-grab thefts in the area have hurt the Mag Mile’s image.
“Without a more concerted effort to reduce actual crime and the perception of it, any revitalization strategies are not likely to have a significant impact,” the report says.
The panel recommends that the Chicago Police Department increase its visibility on the avenue to deter crime, with more officers on foot or horseback, and expand its collaborative policing agreement with Northwestern University. Other ideas: Install more security cameras and launch a branding campaign, including a media strategy to counter the narrative that Michigan Avenue is unsafe.
The panel also took a hard look at Mag Mile’s streetscape. One problem: Its sidewalks.
“They’re beautifully wide, but sadly there’s not much activity happening on them,” says Kimberly Bares, president and CEO of the Magnificent Mile Association, which promotes businesses on the avenue. “We just move people right along, like the moving walkway at O’Hare. We really want people to linger on the avenue.”
There are multiple solutions to that problem. The report recommends creating new seating and other sidewalk furniture, along with “pocket plazas,” to encourage people to stop, relax and eat. Landlords could modify their buildings to allow retailers and restaurants to open up to the street with floor-to-ceiling windows and indoor/outdoor spaces.