"JCPenney has a large and loyal customer base in the Chicago area, and we look forward to continuing to serve them," a company spokesperson told Patch in September, after confirming the retailer had leased space at 8148 S. Cicero Ave. in Burbank.
The address sits about a mile south of Ford City Mall, where JCPenney had been an anchor since 1965. A one-mile move puts the department store that drew shoppers to 76th and Cicero for six decades inside Burbank, in a building that has already held three other retailers. Meanwhile, the Ford City site itself is being proposed for something other than shopping. Shopping in this part of the Southwest Side is shifting south along Cicero Avenue, into smaller spaces, at whatever pace each storefront moves.
How the Mall Ran Out of Time
Ford City's ending took about two years. As Block Club Chicago reported, the city first filed a complaint in May 2024 over the mall's fire-suppression system, then sued in May 2025 after conditions did not improve. On April 10, 2026, the City filed an emergency motion to evacuate the main mall, citing a fire-suppression system that leaked and could not be counted on to work, along with flooding, open wiring and poor lighting.
The timeline from there was short.
- April 2026. JCPenney first said it would leave within 30 to 60 days, then withdrew that statement and said it would wait for the court, according to Southwest Regional Publishing.
- May 2026. A judge signed off on closing the mall. By then JCPenney was the only anchor left, outlasting Montgomery Ward, Sears and Carson's, and it was the last JCPenney inside Chicago city limits.
- June 21, 2026. JCPenney's last public day at Ford City.
- June 22, 2026. The court deadline was noon. Block Club Chicago reported the main mall's entrances were padlocked that morning.
The order covered the main indoor mall only. The North Mall, the AMC theater and the other outbuildings were reported open after the padlocks went on, so the movie theater and those separate storefronts are still part of the 76th Street routine.
A Smaller Store in a Building That Has Turned Over Before
The new JCPenney is a different kind of store from the one Burbank shoppers remember. Patch reported these figures:
| Ford City store | 8148 S. Cicero Ave. | |
|---|---|---|
| Retail floor | about 180,000 sq ft total | 39,398 sq ft |
| Storage | not reported | about 15,000 sq ft, second floor |
| Total | about 180,000 sq ft | about 55,000 sq ft |
The retail floor in Burbank is less than a quarter the size of the space JCPenney left. For a shopper, a room that size will hold far less than an old mall anchor did, so a quick stop may work better than a whole afternoon.
The building has its own history. It has housed Toys R Us and Big Lots, which closed when that chain went bankrupt in December 2024, and most recently Dave's Furniture and Mattress Outlet, which was liquidating when the lease was announced. Iyad Ibrahim owns Dave's and the land at 8148 S. Cicero, and he also owns Gallery Furniture directly across the street. When a resident asked at the September 22 City Council meeting how many furniture stores were in town and whether they were related, the mayor said he believed they were affiliated somehow but were different companies.
The Black Friday Question
The opening date is still the open question. Patch's sources said JCPenney hoped to open by Black Friday, which this year is November 27. JCPenney had not confirmed a date in that report, and Patch said the construction needed was minor. At the September 22 council meeting, the mayor told a resident that permits had been pulled and renovations should start soon.
Hiring is one more sign of progress. A seasonal Operations Associate job at 8148 S. Cicero Ave. was posted on Indeed at $17.05 to $18.75 an hour, for work getting the store ready to open. The posting gives no opening date. Black Friday is a target for now, not a promise.
79th Street Is Filling In Too, at Its Own Pace
The JCPenney is the biggest move, but it is not the only storefront Burbank residents have asked about at City Hall. The September 22 council minutes show residents asking about three different sites in one meeting. Here is where the 79th Street projects stood at last report.
- Dunkin', 5706 W. 79th St. Dunkin's own location page lists it as "Coming Soon." At the September meeting the mayor said the city had no official opening date but felt the store was close to done.
- Gloria Jean's Coffees, 7120 W. 79th St. Between Speedway and Dollar General. In February, Southwest Regional Publishing reported it was under construction, had made real progress since summer and was expected to open soon. Check that the doors are open before you drive over for a coffee.
- Joey's Red Hots, 7920 Lavergne Ave. The one confirmed newcomer on this list. It opened in May 2025, and Patch reported a grand opening and ribbon cutting on July 29, 2025.
- The hotel at 79th Street and State Road. This one is in the former Cole-Taylor Bank building next to the Walgreens. It has been in the works since at least 2019, and as of February city officials said work was continuing on the delayed project.
- The former Georgio's restaurant site. At the September meeting, Building Commissioner Hession said he had recently asked the owner to submit drawings for a proposed development, and none had been filed.
Nearby on State Road, the city approved a $159,410 contract with KLF Enterprises to demolish the vacant VFW building at 5450 State Road. Mayor Gilgenberg II said items of significance to the VFW were saved first so they could go to another local VFW group. The street itself is getting work too. In April the council awarded LB Landscaping Designs $177,607 for the 79th Street bus-stop improvement project, and the May minutes said paver work would begin the following week.
Each of these sites moves on its own schedule. The Dunkin' is waiting on its opening date. The coffee shop's status is unclear. The hotel has been stalled for years. The Georgio's lot is waiting for plans. That is why the JCPenney timeline matters so much. It is the only project on the corridor with a publicly reported target date.
What Comes Next at 76th and Cicero
The Ford City site is not on track to become a mall again. As Block Club Chicago reported, Midwest RE Acquisitions, an affiliate of Kurv Industrial, has proposed tearing down the mall and building four industrial buildings. The City Plan Commission approved the plan on August 20, 2026. The latest version adds a CTA bus terminal, a Ford City Heritage Plaza, a rebuilt 76th Street, landscaping and stormwater measures. The developer estimates two years of construction, finishing near the end of 2028. The proposal has also changed along the way. Coverage in 2025 described roughly 913,000 square feet and 400 to 450 permanent jobs. The August 2026 version tops one million square feet with about 185 permanent jobs.
None of that is final. WTTW reported on September 3 that the plan still needed approval from the Zoning Committee and the full City Council. Some neighbors have asked for independent studies of traffic, air quality, noise and infrastructure before any vote.
If the plan goes through, the land a mile north of 8148 S. Cicero would hold warehouses and a bus terminal instead of stores. That leaves Burbank's own stretch of Cicero Avenue, the department store in a box that used to sell toys, and the coffee and doughnut shops on 79th Street to carry the shopping trips that used to end at Ford City. Updates on the Burbank sites have come up during resident questions at City Council meetings, which the city holds at City Hall, 6530 W. 79th St.
Tamika Marks and the team at Trademarks & Associates LLC keep an eye on what is opening, closing and being rebuilt along Cicero Avenue and 79th Street, because those changes shape how people use their part of the Southwest Side. If you have questions about a property near the old Ford City site or anywhere along this corridor, let's connect.
