Northwoods Mall (Illinois)

Northwoods Mall
Northwoods and adjacent I-74/U.S. 150 interchange, 1974
Location Peoria, Illinois, United States
Coordinates 40°44′27″N 89°37′45″W
Address 2200 W. War Memorial Dr. (formerly 4501 N. War Memorial Dr.)
Opening date 1973
Developer Harold Carlson
Owner Kohan Retail Investment Group
No. of stores and services 90
No. of anchor tenants 4 (2 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area 694,000 sq ft (64,500 m2)
No. of floors 2
Parking 3,009 spaces
Public transit access Greater Peoria Mass Transit District
Website Official website

Northwoods Mall is a shopping mall in Peoria, Illinois. The mall opened in 1973. It is situated at the corner of Scenic Drive and U.S. Route 150 (West War Memorial Drive). The anchor stores are JCPenney, Round 1 Entertainment, and The RoomPlace. There is 1 vacant anchor store that was once Sears.

History

Northwoods Mall opened in 1973 and was designed by architects Sidney H. Morris & Associates of Chicago, with Harold Carson Associates as the manager. The original anchor stores upon opening were Montgomery Ward, Carson Pirie Scott (shortened later to Carson's), and JCPenney. Original tenants included Helzberg Diamonds, B. Dalton, Claire's, GNC, a Fannie May candy shop, a bank, Brown's Sporting Goods, and several restaurants.

The mall was sold to Simon Property Group in 1983. Carson's closed that same year and was replaced two years later by Famous-Barr. Also in 1983, a botulism outbreak at the mall's Skewer Inn restaurant affected 28 customers.

Montgomery Ward closed its store in the mall in 1997, and Sears occupied its space a year later. A 2005 renovation added a food court. The Famous-Barr store was re-branded as Macy's in 2006. On January 7, 2016, it was announced that Macy's would close in March 2016 as part of a plan to close 40 stores nationwide. In 2017, Round 1 Entertainment moved into part of the vacant Macy's store on the 1st floor which opened on November 18, 2017. In 2018, it was announced that The RoomPlace would move into the rest of the half vacant Macy's store on the 2nd floor which opened on May 11, 2018.

On November 7, 2019, it was announced that Sears would close in February 2020 as part of a plan to close 96 stores nationwide. After Sears closed, JCPenney became the only remaining traditional anchor store left. Sears closed on February 16, 2020. In 2020, Spirit Halloween served as a temporary anchor store in the former Sears. On March 22, 2023, it was announced that Round1 would be closing in May 2023.