California-based Cubework recently announced the purchase of the former Sears retail store at Orland Square Mall in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, IL, with plans to transform it into a coworking mall.
The 16.3-acre property includes approximately 100,000 square feet of space in the former Sears store, as well as a large adjacent parking lot. The deal was brokered by CBRE’s National Retail Partners, although the sale price was not publicly announced. Most of the mall is owned by Simon Property Group, but the former Sears site was separate.
Orland Park Mayor, Keith Pekau, expressed surprise at the sale as no redevelopment plans had been submitted to the local government yet. Pekau added that a former plan to transform the store into a movie theater had been brought to a halt by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the space had been empty since 2018.
A former Carsons store at Southlake Mall in northwest Indiana was also purchased by Cubework and is being marketed as a coworking mall, along with the former Sears property.
Cubework specializes in renting kiosks and pop-up spaces to small businesses, offering short-term and month-to-month leases with amenities such as free utilities and Wi-Fi. The company offers spaces ranging in size from 150 to 50,000 square feet on short-term rental plans in more than 50 locations throughout the U.S. The spaces are suitable for a range of applications, including dedicated cubicles, hot desks, and private offices, but also makerspaces; health and beauty salons; wellness suites; ecommerce fulfillment; and indoor sports and entertainment.
Image source: Google Maps
