Bowling Alley Unlikely at Evanston Plaza, Owner Says

While more than 300 people have signed a petition to bring a bowling alley to the vacant space at Evanston Plaza, a representative of the development company says it’s unlikely a bowling alley would work there.

“Physically, we don’t even have a space for a bowling alley,” says Scott Inbinder of Bonnie Investment Group LLC, the development firm that bought Evanston Plaza in 2011. “I just don’t think the layout of our remaining vacant space is conducive to [a bowling alley.]”

According to Inbinder, the two large, 25,000-square-foot vacant spaces are not deep enough and the column widths are too narrow to permit a standard-sized bowling alley.

Earlier: Do You Want a Bowling Alley at Evanston Plaza?

Nevertheless, Inbinder said Bonnie Investment had reached out to Brunswick a long time ago, but Brunswick said it was not planning to open any new locations in the Chicago area. Since AMF filed for bankruptcy in November, Brunswick is the only national bowling operator in business, according to Inbinder. 

More locally, Inbinder said his firm had reached out to Pinstripes and The Wilmette Bowling Center to see if either would be interested in opening a location in Evanston Plaza. Representatives for Pinstripes said they were not looking for new locations and tend to own their own buildings, while The Wilmette Bowling Center did not return his call, Inbinder said.

Meanwhile, his firm is slowly starting to fill the center. Initially, Bonnie Investment planned to find anchor tenants first, to fill either of the two largest vacant spaces, Inbinder said. Both spaces were designed to fit what industry insiders call a “junior box anchor” store—such as Goodwill, TJ Maxx or Marshall’s—but that size has been particularly tough to fill. 

“It’s a regional size, but in a neighborhood location, and so a lot of the national tenants that we’ve reached out to have basically said, ‘Look, we want to be in a more regional location, either in Old Orchard or downtown Evanston, and this is just a little bit of an in-betweener,” Inbinder explains. “It takes that special tenant.”

On top of that, a weak retail market over the last several years has meant that many junior anchor chains have gone bankrupt—including Circuit City, Linens ‘N Things and Borders. Meanwhile, some of the newer chains in the market, such as hhgregg, aren’t willing to locate in Cook County, Inbinder said. 

“A lot of them have been afraid to locate within Cook County because the taxes are so high,” he explained. 

Now, Bonnie Investment has taken a different strategy and is trying to fill the smaller spaces first. So far, the group has added a pediatrician’s office, an Armed Forces office and a Papa Romeo’s pizza restaurant. Bonnie Investment has also signed a lease with a medical facility that will move into the far southwest portion of the former Steve and Barry’s space.

Asked whether Dominick’s had any special right of refusal to new stores, Inbinder explained that the grocery store had certain provisions in its lease that are customary with any anchor tenant. Those include the right to refuse tenants with conflicting uses, such as another store that sells food or alcohol or has a pharmacy, as well as the right to refuse tenants that would take up a lot of parking, such as a movie theater.

“That’s totally customary,” he said. “There’s nothing in their lease that’s more restrictive than what we’d see in any shopping center.”

Inbinder also stressed that Dominick’s had been very cooperative in filling the shopping center.

“There seems to be a misperception as to Dominick’s and their willingness to participate in the overall success of the center,” he said. “I feel like the word’s not getting out there that they’ve been completely cooperative.”

Asked whether it was taking an unusually long time to fill the space at Evanston Plaza, Inbinder said a year or more was standard, given the weak economy and the challenging nature of the shopping plaza’s large size in a location that doesn’t have a regional pull.

“We’re in the business of leasing space. We’re not in the business of owning empty buildings,” he said. “Every tenant that we know of that’s out there, we’ve put a call in to try to get them to Evanston Plaza.”

Since city council members approved the enabling ordinances last summer, the shopping plaza has been designated as a tax-increment financing (TIF) district. The TIF plan approved by aldermen calls for $20 million in tax-increment financing over 23 years, including $3 million in utility improvements, $4 million in parking facilities and landscaping, $4 million in site preparation and demolition, and $4.75 million in rehabilitation of current structures. Council members also earmarked up to $2 million in "short-term redevelopment needs" for Bonnie Investment Group, including utility upgrades and other site work.