Machesney Park Mall was a shopping mall in Machesney Park, Illinois, a village in the Rockford, Illinois metropolitan area. Since its opening, the mall has greatly declined. The entire enclosed portion of the mall was closed, with the space being open to redevelopment. A large portion of the mall was transformed into two stores, Burlington Coat Factory and Big Lots, in an effort to transform the mall into a shopping plaza.

History

The mall was built on part of the site of the former Machesney Airport, which closed in 1974, by Melvin Simon and Associates (now Simon Property Group). It opened in 1978 with the original anchor stores being: JCPenney (which later became a JCPenney Outlet Store) and H. C. Prange. Shortly after the mall's opening, Kohl's and Prange Way were added as anchor stores. In 1990, Prange Way closed, and was replaced by Phar-Mor. Phar-Mor later became Seventh Avenue Direct. In 1992, H. C. Prange was acquired by Iowa-based Younkers. At the end of 1996, following its acquisition, Younkers closed both of its stores in the Rockford area, as they were both replaced by Bergner's. In 2003, the enclosed portion of the mall was closed and became open for redevelopment. All anchor tenants continued operation. Both Kohl's and The Seventh Avenue Direct store closed in the mid to late 2000's. A Burlington Coat Factory store opened at the site of the former mall in September 2009. A few years later, a Big Lots store opened. In December 2013, the JCPenney Outlet Store closed as part of a plan to close all Outlet Stores. On October 11, 2016, The Bon-Ton Stores announced that the Bergner's location would be closing on January 31, 2017.

Stores

** Current Stores ** Burlington Coat Factory (2009–present) Big Lots (2010's–present) ** Former Anchor Stores ** JCPenney (1978–2013; closed as part of a plan to close all Outlet Stores) H. C. Prange (1978–1992; acquired by Younkers) Prange Way (1980's–1990; replaced by Phar-Mor) Kohl's (1980's–2000's; closed for redevelopment) Phar-Mor (1990's–1990's; replaced by Seventh Avenue Direct) Seventh Avenue Direct (1990's–2000's; closed for redevelopment) Younkers (1992–1996; replaced by Bergner's) Bergner's (1996–2017; closed for redevelopment)

Renovations

Since being acquired by Rubloff Development Group in December 2003, the mall has been undergoing internal demolition in preparation for redevelopment. Practice Velocity, a medical software and billing company, moved into the former Kohl's in late 2013. On July 18, 2018, it was announced that PCI Pharma Services would move into the vacant JCPenney store.