An obsolete two-level enclosed mall in Chicago will soon be transformed into a 594,000 sq. ft. shopping center, thanks to a $65 million redevelopment loan. GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. (GMACCM) will provide the construction loan, which will extend 30 months with two six-month extension options. The developer is an entity controlled by the Whitehall Funds. 

The new development, which will be called The Brickyard, will be anchored by Jewel-Osco, Target and Lowe’s. The site is located at the intersection of Diversey and Narragansett avenues. "The project represented a good opportunity to redevelop and reposition a well-located, urban, infill mall that had reached the end of its useful life," says Vacys Garbonkus, senior vice president of GMACCM’s Chicago construction lending division.

Garbonkus adds that this new open air power center will "better serve the community and provide needed jobs" for the area. The City of Chicago is helping make The Brickyard a reality by creating a tax-increment financing district (TIF). This will designation will give the developer additional financing after the project is finished.

"With The Brickyard attracting such top-notch tenants as Lowe’s and Target, this new center is expected to become a vibrant part of the community," says Kim Betancourt, senior vice president for Realpoint, GMAC Institutional Advisors’ research and surveillance division.