Jaffe Cos. To Open $200M Center Next Month

SOUTH BARRINGTON, IL-The Arboretum of South Barrington, a 600,000-sf, $200 million development, is now set to open the weekend of Sept. 26. The development is on an 82-acre, northwest suburban property at 100 W. Higgins Rd. The center will be anchored by three retail and entertainment outlets, two of which are opening their first locations in the Midwest, according to Michael Jaffe, principal of the Jaffe Cos., which owns and developed the lifestyle center.

“We wanted to present the Northwest suburbs with a new downtown that combined entertainment, dining and shopping; a place to show off the best to their out-of-town friends, to see and be seen, and to meet and greet with neighbors,” Jaffe tells GlobeSt.com. “It’s a very important intersection in the Chicago suburbs and is at the gateway of one of the wealthiest corridors in metro Chicago and in the country for that matter. These are long-standing, wealthy communities in the Chicago area that have been underserved for retail.”Jaffe says an ambition of developers was to distinguish the center from other lifestyle properties in the area by bringing in unique tenants. The development did so in a big way, signing three unconventional anchor tenants, he says. The project will see outdoor gear and apparel store LL Bean’s first Midwest location, and luxury movie theater Village Road Show Gold Class Cinemas’ first location in the country. Also signed as a tenant is the second Chicago area location of Pinstripes, an upscale bowling, bocce and bistro center.

“It was vital to us that we present a place that broke the drudgery of shopping,” Jaffe says. “In these challenging times, the last thing people want to do is schlep a long time through a mall. Our idea is to make this convenient, attractive and fun to folks. This is what well to do, discerning, demanding customers are looking for.”