"I think the silver lining in all this is that we still have a developer that is committed to seeing this project through, and in year seven is still here with us trying to get this project done," Vernon Hills Village Manager Kevin Timony told the village board, as reported by the Daily Herald in September.
Timony was talking about the big project: turning a 1970s enclosed mall into a mixed-use district with about 600 apartments and new shops and restaurants. Its estimated cost has gone from $252 million to $491.5 million. That work is the long game. Over the same months, Hawthorn has been spending money on the indoor mall, the part of the property the redevelopment changes least. That makes this holiday season unusual. The interior refresh was scheduled to be substantially done this fall, and the work that opens the building outward isn't planned to start until early 2027.
The money went inside first
In July, owner Centennial Real Estate announced a $5 million upgrade to the mall's interior, the Daily Herald reported. The list is specific:
- A transformed center court
- Lounge seating throughout, which the plans say is meant to increase "dwell time"
- New seating and lighting in the dining court
- New flooring, railings and detailing in the common areas
- A redesigned Kids Zone with interactive play features, climbing elements and reading nooks
- Better wayfinding, plus natural materials, greenery and modern furnishings
The goal was for the work to be substantially complete by fall. Sam Whitebread, Centennial's vice president of development, told the paper the company is "investing in an experience that reflects how people want to shop and spend time today, while building on Hawthorn's longstanding role as a central gathering place for Lake County."
Read that list next to the redevelopment plans and it makes sense. The Daily Herald describes the interior work as the link between the shopping center and everything built around it: Hawthorn Row, the nearby apartments and townhouses, and the activity outside the doors. The mall is 53 years old. Two of its anchors are already gone. Sears on the east side came down in early 2021, and Carson Pirie Scott was demolished after Phase I was finished. The middle of the building is what's left to tie the new pieces together, and that's where the money went this year.
This year's new tenants are places to spend an afternoon
The businesses that opened this year follow the same thinking as the refresh. Most are built around spending time.
Hologram Zoo Illinois opened in January in one of the courts slated for the refresh. RC RaceZone started with a soft opening, and the mall listed a grand opening event on September 27. The mall's directory also lists Coffee Center, with hours and contact details.
Two existing tenants also invested. AMC Hawthorn 12 opened a new IMAX auditorium, and Tricoci Salon & Spa expanded with a new MedSpa.
A hologram exhibit, an RC track and a premium movie screen are all things you go to in person and stay at for a while.
Why a 53-year-old mall is still worth spending on
The answer is in Vernon Hills' sales numbers. Retail consultant John Melaniphy, who has done studies for the village, told the Daily Herald that Vernon Hills had the highest annual retail sales of any Lake County community in 2025, at more than $2 billion. That was up 13.2%. He credited the decline of Golf Mill Mall in Niles and Northbrook Court in Northbrook, along with the housing built around Hawthorn.
So as two other north suburban malls have faded, more shoppers are coming to Hawthorn, and some of the new demand lives right next door. Phase I added The Domaine, 311 apartments in two four-story buildings, plus the Main Street-style Hawthorn Row ground-floor retail, both finished in 2024. Two restaurants along Route 21 were also part of that phase. Melaniphy said the mall interior has been well maintained over the years, but a refresh is needed to upgrade the whole property and keep sales up.
The holiday calendar runs through the courts on the refresh list
Hawthorn's holiday schedule is spread across the indoor courts and Hawthorn Row, so it takes you through the spaces the refresh targeted. Here's what the mall has posted for this season.
| Date | Event | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 20 through Dec. 24 | Share the Warmth coat drive | Hawthorn |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Santa photos begin; Santa PJ Party | Lower-level H&M Court; party 4–6 p.m. |
| Wed., Nov. 25; Dec. 2; Dec. 9 | Baby's First Christmas visits | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Tree Lighting & Santa's Arrival | Hawthorn Row, 4–7 p.m.; lighting at 5 p.m. |
| Mon., Nov. 30; Dec. 7; Dec. 14 | Pet photo nights with Santa | 4–7 p.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Sensory-friendly Santa | 9:30–10:30 a.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Last day for Santa photos | Closes at 6 p.m. |
The biggest single night is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hawthorn and the Village of Vernon Hills are hosting the Annual Tree Lighting & Santa's Arrival at Hawthorn Row, and Santa arrives on a Vernon Hills Fire Department fire truck. Plans include an ice rink, a vendor market, hot cocoa, a giant gingerbread inflatable slide, a sleigh selfie station, and winter princess meet-and-greets that start alongside the 5 p.m. lighting of the village holiday tree. It's free, and you don't need to register.
That's the village's own tree, lit on Hawthorn Row, a street that didn't exist before 2024. The holiday celebration has moved onto the redeveloped part of the property, and the early Santa visits and pet nights stay indoors in the courts the refresh was meant to improve.
What changes after the decorations come down
The next visible step happens outside. The Daily Herald's July report said work to convert the mall's east and south facades into outward-facing storefronts with landscaped plazas and outdoor seating is planned to begin in early 2027.
The amended agreement the village board approved in September puts that work into a larger sequence. As described in the Daily Herald's coverage, the remaining pieces are:
- Phase II, first part. About 64,500 square feet of outward-facing retail, two new mall entrances, plaza, road and parking improvements, and 46 townhouses for rent.
- Phase II, second part. 280 to 290 apartments, about 37,290 square feet of retail and commercial space, and a mixed-use parking garage.
- Phase III. About 12,000 square feet of retail and commercial space on an outlot facing Route 60.
The apartments are going on the former Carson's site, and the July report gave 2028 as their target completion date. The September amendment also extended the overall project timeline. Timony linked the delay and the higher cost to the pandemic, inflation, rising interest rates and oil prices, tariffs, and higher material and labor costs.
The financing changed too. The village's share of proceeds from the special tax district created in late 2020 rises from $43 million to a maximum of $64 million. A $7.5 million sales-tax sharing piece of the original deal was canceled, and Timony said the village's share of the total investment went down. He described the revised agreement as one that "protects the village's financial interest while also providing the necessary incentives for the developer to see this project through."
For anyone going to Hawthorn between now and Christmas Eve, the sequence works out like this. The interior work, with its new seating, lighting and Kids Zone, was set to wrap up this fall. Hawthorn Row has the village tree. The east and south walls still look the way they have for decades. Once the facade work begins, the storefronts and plazas planned for those walls start turning Hawthorn into a property you can reach from the outside.
If you live near Hawthorn and want to talk through what the next phases could mean for your street, Anne Hardy follows Vernon Hills redevelopment closely and is glad to share what she's seeing. Schedule a free consultation, and bring your questions about how the changes around the mall might affect your home's story when it's time to sell.
