Bloomingdale’s And Macy’s Seek Consolidations And Closures Regarding Their Chicago City Locations

It’s been a tough year for Chicago’s Miracle Mile business district. The upper-end residential and commercial area, located just one mile north of the Loop, has been directly impacted by COVID-19 closures, social justice demonstrations, and widespread looting. Two of the Miracle Mile’s most prominent retailers, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s
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, have embarked on consolidation projects or expressed interest in leaving the area.

After a police-involved shooting on Sunday afternoon, some social media posts directed people to the Miracle Mile, Loop, and River North retail corridors and express their anger. In the early hours on Monday August 10, hundreds descended on the the Miracle Mile shopping district and engaged in hours of widespread looting. By daybreak, over 100 persons were arrested and 13 police officers were injured. 

For the second time in just over two months, Miracle Mile businesses were devastated. A number of retailers were still recovering from damage that occurred in late May after the murder of George Floyd.

Macy’s at Water Tower Place was one business that experienced severe damage and looting for the second time. Macy’s has expressed outrage and concern over the recent events at its location and throughout the city. The store remains closed.

On Friday afternoon, Andrea Schwartz, Macy’s Senior Director of Media Relations, said, “We’re deeply saddened for our customers, colleagues and neighbors that an event of this magnitude [at our Water Tower Place store] has occurred once again. We fully support and cooperate with the City of Chicago as we recover from this act of destruction.”

This statement comes one day after Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Macy’s wishes to close its Miracle Mile store. Crain’s also reported that annual sales at the Water Tower Place location dropped from $85 million in 2014 to $54 million in 2019. And that was before COVID-19 and demonstrations.

“We do not have any comment regarding the Crain’s story,” says Macy’s Schwartz. But on Friday afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot confirmed that Macy’s recently discussed leaving Water Tower Place. Lightfoot insisted that it was not related to the latest looting incidents. “Macy’s is going through struggles as a company all over the country,” said Lightfoot. “It’s been a struggle (for Macy’s) to adapt to this new economy.” 

Since 2017, Macy’s has been selling off real estate and streamlining its large fleet of stores. In February, the retailer announced that 125 underperforming locations would close over the next three years. Some of the company’s most valuable properties have been used for collateral for loans geared to pay down its massive accumulated debt load.

In September 2006, Marshall Field’s assumed the Macy’s nameplate. Field’s was a famous retail emporium that was a household name and a source of civic and commercial pride. Its legendary State Street store, designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham, once boasted the country’s largest selling aisle, the nation’s biggest retail shoe operation, and the largest year-round toy department, all housed underneath a spectacular Tiffany dome ceiling. For many Chicagoans, Marshall Field’s was much more than just a store, it was part of its identity. Many residents grieved and protested the loss of Field’s.

Macy’s has maintained a State Street presence but has downsized the former Field’s flagship location. Its top six floors were sold off in 2018 as commercial space and its bottom seven floors recently completed an initial consolidation. The State Street location is one of the properties used as collateral for its high-risk debt loan.

Macy’s says it remains committed to the State Street store. “We have maximized our selling floors to create a more productive store using the vast space that we already have…[and] of course, we are also continuing the tradition of the world famous Walnut Room,” says Schwartz.

Macy’s is not the first New York-based retailer to have a Chicago presence. The Windy City has been home to Saks Fifth Avenue, and former locations of Bonwit Teller, Lord & Taylor, Best & Co. and Henri Bendel.

In September 1988, Bloomingdale’s entered the Chicago market and opened a large store on North Michigan Avenue, promising to bring “a little bit of Manhattan” to Chicago. Bloomingdale’s was often regarded as part store, part theater. It not only sold cutting edge fashions, it dictated trends.

“[Today] Bloomingdale’s maintains a relatively low-key but strong, loyal following among East Coast transplants as well as Midwesterners who are not able to make the trek to Manhattan,” says Jim McKay, who teaches architectural design for retail at several local educational institutions. “If you want a NYC luxury retail experience in Chicago, Bloomingdale’s on Michigan Avenue is at the top of the list.”

When Macy’s took over the Marshall Field’s stores in September 2006, many local residents promised to take their business to other retailers, including Bloomingdale’s. However many shoppers were unaware that Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s were under the same ownership. “Even Chicago’s film critic Roger Ebert announced in the Chicago Sun-Times that if Field’s became Macy’s, he was taking his business to Bloomingdale’s, only to have readers to tell him of the Macy’s connection,” says McKay.

When Nordstrom
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arrived in the Miracle Mile in 2000, Bloomingdale’s sought to expand its home department in response to the increased competition. In February 2003, the retailer opened a separate home and furniture store, located in the former Medinah Temple, just two blocks off of Michigan Avenue. 

Bloomingdale’s $40 million redevelopment of the Medinah Temple space not only provided extra sales space in a unique environment but also saved the empty building, with its onion-shaped domes, from demolition. Built in 1912 by the Shriners, the Medinah Temple housed a 4200-seat auditorium, and was the home to circuses, conventions, and other large-scale events. For three decades, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra used the Medinah Temple space for some of its most legendary recordings.

But as part of the retailer’s strategy to cash in on its real estate portfolio, Macy’s sold the Medinah Temple space in 2019. Bloomingdale’s will vacate the historic building after Labor Day and consolidate the home department into the Michigan Avenue location.

Bloomingdale’s officials confirmed that the Michigan Avenue and Medinah home stores sustained damage during last weekend’s looting. But unlike Macy’s at Water Tower Place, both have since reopened.

Chicago officials have promised increased patrols within many of the city’s commercial districts, including the Miracle Mile. The city has also limited bridge and highway access to the area over weekend hours.

The Miracle Mile once touted itself as “fashionable, convenient, scenic, and open to enjoyment.” But that image has been challenged. Between COVID-19 and episodes of social unrest, it seems certain that the changes and challenges that are occurring at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s will not be the last to occur within Chicago’s Miracle Mile district.