City Park - Lincolnshire, Illinois

City Park retail center was the final component added to ECD’s  lifestyle center in suburban Lincolnshire.  The retail center adds to a development which includes a hotel, cinema, office building and two Lettuce Entertainment restaurants.

ECD’s mandate was to create a unique retail center. Unlike the majority of retail centers built in the suburbs, ECD directed Aria Group to avoid neo-classic vocabularies and  create massing that was dynamic.  To achieve these objectives, the plan was oriented on the bias to the property frontage and facades are undulated, creating exterior spaces.  In general, the project is an inward oriented composition.  Monument signage helps mitigate the absence of retailer’s direct exposure to the street and is an essential component for concepts of this nature.  A consistent investment was made on the quality of the back facades facing the adjoining streets. Service entrances are obstructed with garden walls, strategic berms and lush landscaping.

While a number of efficiencies are sacrificed with this design approach, a sense of place has been created that encourages users to linger, enhancing the retail experience.

In addition, this planning approach benefits the community by rejecting the flat box, sea of parking formula that dominates the suburban landscape.