The next step in the redevelopment of Eastland Mall will be a new restaurant.
The Bloomington Planning Commission will review plans for the new restaurant at its Nov. 8 meeting. The restaurant would be built in the parking lot on the northeast corner of the mall’s property, closest to the intersection of Veterans Parkway and Empire Street, documents show.
The name of the restaurant is not being disclosed. A message left with the mall's owner was not immediately returned Friday.
“The (mall) is not required to disclose the name of the restaurant or tenant for the purposes of a site plan review,” city staff wrote in a memo to planning commission members.
The 6,200-square-foot restaurant will reduce overall parking at the mall by an “insignificant amount,” according to city staff.
If approved Nov. 8, the plan would come before the Bloomington City Council on Dec. 11.
The new restaurant is the latest move by owner CBL Properties to redevelop the mall, which has struggled in recent years with the closure of tenants such as Macy’s, JCPenney, MC Sports and the Gap. In other markets, CBL has invested in major redevelopments of its struggling regional malls, with fewer fashion anchor stores and more diverse businesses, such as entertainment, fitness centers, and restaurants.
That appears to now be happening in Bloomington too. Last month, CBL said Planet Fitness would be moving into JCPenney’s former space, opening in 2018.
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