It’s no secret that the Eastland Mall is in decline. The owner of the mall, CBL Properties, even said so in its 2025 property tax appeal.
“Revenues from all sources declined in the period of 2022 to 2024 and have been steadily declining for several years," said the October 2025 report from property tax law firm Siegel Jennings, obtained by WGLT. It attributed the decline in revenues and rise in vacant stores to the “Amazon Effect,” as more shoppers choose to shop online.
The decline has been noticed by people driving in and around the mall property, too.
“I feel like it’s quite an eyesore,” said Quinn Brewer of Normal.
“I try not to look at it because there’s nothing to look at,” Kelby Cumpston of Bloomington added.
The property is now for sale, which raises the question: Is a shopping mall still the best use of the 736,000-square-foot space?
With CBL apparently unwilling to reinvest in the property, WGLT asked the people of McLean County for their own ideas for revitalizing it. After putting out a request for ideas in July, WGLT received more than 2,000 formal submissions and Facebook comments.
The crowdfunded ideas were diverse. Some suggested a casino, another an indoor dog park. There were multiple calls for a Costco, or a Trader Joe's, or a Dave and Buster's. However, there was a clear consensus against another retail mall.
Of those who responded, about a third suggested converting the property into housing. Another third or so suggested a culinary hub for emerging restaurants. Other common responses included creating a sports complex, a park or a family entertainment center.
WGLT whittled the submissions down to 20 and asked the public to choose its Top 5 ideas, which they did during a voting round in August. WGLT then hired a team of four Illinois State University student illustrators from the Wonsook Kim School of Art and Design to help bring these ideas to life, as seen below.
The Grow Hub at Eastland
When Gagandeep Singh moved to Bloomington from Rhode Island with his family in 2020, a friend told him he wouldn’t notice much of a change.
Singh said he did, though. The nation’s smallest state supports a collection of shopping centers along I-95.
“When we moved here we were slightly disappointed because we saw the infrastructure here, but just a couple of stores that were open and serving,” Singh said.
There was something else that bothered him. Singh is the father of two young children and he tries to feed them organic, healthy foods as often as possible. He said when he first moved, he wasn’t aware of the local farmers markets yet and felt there weren’t enough organic options available.
“We are in the biggest farmland in the U.S. but still we are getting our vegetables and fruits from all across the U.S. and nearby countries,” he said.
While there are many grocery store options in Bloomington-Normal, Singh argued they do not always have abundant organic options and that those foods can be grown using pesticides or chemicals that harm the body.
His idea, called the Grow Hub, is to convert three of the large anchor store properties in the mall into vertical farms. Vertical farms control the light, water and fertilizer available to the plant, and compact the plants tightly together in tall columns to save space.
Illinois State University’s Office of Sustainability maintains a vertical farm in a trailer next to its building. Singh imagined the Grow Hub’s vertical farms could be a collaborative opportunity with local college and university agriculture programs.
Beyond the vertical farm, he pictured the mall concourse turning into an indoor farmers market. Small mall storefronts could become permanent marketplaces for local farmers, or become restaurants where chefs prepared meals using produce grown within the hub.
“There could be stores serving fresh food cooked right in front of your eyes that’s coming from like 50 feet behind them,” Singh said.
The Grow Hub could operate year-round because the farms would be protected from changing weather.
Eastland Family Fun Center
What if the mall grew memories instead of meals? That’s a driving force behind Laura Hughs' vision of a family fun center.
The mom of two from Carlock said she was inspired by a family trip to FunCity Resort in Burlington, Iowa.
Hughs grew up in Normal and remembered when the mall was the go-to place to hang out.
“It was a thing that we planned to go with friends, even if we had nothing to buy, just to go without an adult,” she recalled.
Part of that childhood independence is present in her idea. Hughs envisioned an interconnected hotel and indoor waterpark, filled with other fun spaces like an arcade, a bowling alley or mini golf course.
“Bloomington-Normal is well poised in our area with the interstates coming to and from us with a population of young families and young kids,” Hughs said.
She imagined families coming from across the Midwest to enjoy a vacation spot where the hotel and the fun activities are all in one place.
“I think it's an ease, especially parents of young children, to be able to stop one place and stay there for the bulk of the time that you're enjoying your family fun,” she said.
She said there would need to be a variety of activities to appeal to kids of different ages. Older children could get a taste of independence by exploring the resort, and parents can make memories with little ones without having to lug the car seat close behind.
Hughs believed the resort could attract families visiting for sports tournaments, or children looking to celebrate a birthday party. She can see families who currently come for a day trip staying longer with the resort.
Hughs does picture new construction for the resort, which her proposal argued would create jobs.
Rivian Raceway
Another option for entertainment would use the existing structure for an entirely different purpose.
Kelby Cumpston of Bloomington imagined go-karts racing down a track built inside and around the mall. But instead of low-to-the-ground, steel-framed rumbling karts, Cumpston pictures electric go-karts styled after Rivian’s R1, R2 and R3 EVs. Most if not all of the go-karts in Bloomington-Normal are gas-powered.
“If you look at other places that have indoor electric go-kart races, they're expensive,” he said. “They are not affordable at all for most people in this community. I was thinking how do we actually make that attainable for the youth around here, and one of the ideas is to have sponsorship.”
Cumpston said many indoor go-kart tracks are also a wide oval. He pictured the mall track having more twists and turns, making it more unique. The former Macy’s two-story open atrium would be converted into a spectator’s lounge where viewers could place “low-stakes, friendly wagers” on races.
He said the idea could create a stronger cultural tie between the electric vehicle manufacturer and Bloomington-Normal. Plus, it could encourage Rivian fans from around the country to visit.
WGLT reached out to Rivian to hear their opinion on the idea.
“We always love seeing the creativity of the community, and Kelby’s 'Rivian Raceway' idea definitely put a smile on our faces,” a spokesperson for Rivian said. “While we don't have any plans to jump into the electric go-kart business right now, it’s awesome to see the passion local residents have for our brand.”
A pocket neighborhood
What if the future of the Eastland Mall property is more peaceful, and addresses a serious need in the community?
Deb Presley is the president of the Central Illinois Down Syndrome Organization [CIDSO]. She said children born with intellectual or developmental disabilities [IDD] are more likely to outlive their parents than before, because of advances in medical treatment.
Presley said in Illinois, an estimated 50,000 adults with IDD are being cared for by a parent or family member older than 60.
That creates two problems. One is that aging adults are trying to manage their well-being while caring for another person. The other is that when the parents of an adult with IDD die, there are limited options on what that adult can do next.
Typically, adults with IDD can either live with family or in a group home.
“We choose who want to live with and we choose if we live by ourselves,” Presley said. “However with group homes, the state and federal policy is that a minimum of three individuals have to live together... if that doesn't suit the adult with a developmental disability, they're kind of out of luck right now.”
Presley and CIDSO have been developing an idea of a supportive housing neighborhood for adults 55 and older and adults with IDD. They imagined a gated community composed on one-to-two-bedroom houses. Inside would be smart home technology, walk-in showers, doors and hallways wide enough for wheelchairs and more accessibility features.
This could allow aging parents of an adult with IDD to age with their child and then leave the home to them after their death.
Presley said those adults could also live independently with case management support, or that older couples could downsize into the neighborhood. She said the caretaking needs and recreational interests of the two groups often overlap.
“Pickleball courts, bocce courts,” Presley said, listing some examples. “A community room where they can have classes and book clubs and things of that nature.”
Presley pictured case management workers and support staff in the neighborhood to help seniors and adults with IDD navigate their changing health needs.
Like Hughs’ family fun center, this idea would require tearing down the mall property.
CIDSO has looked at other open properties in Bloomington-Normal. Presley liked the Eastland Mall location because of its proximity to medical care, shopping and public transit. The YMCA is nearby, too.
Eastland Commons
The person behind the last idea argued the entire Eastland Mall property should be given back to nature.
Quinn Brewer has lived in Bloomington-Normal since he attended ISU. He is the father of a toddler and wanted more nature-filled spaces to share with his child.
“I think Veterans has really succumbed to the suburban sprawl of billboards and storefronts. I think visually it's really overwhelming,” Brewer said.
Brewer suggested tearing down the mall and making the property a public park and green space. His idea included reusing remnants of the mall.
Repurposed concrete could trace the original outline of the mall, acknowledging the land’s history while winding walkers past pollinator gardens, a pond, a small amphitheater and more.
Eventually, Brewer thought it could connect to the Constitution Trail.
He said this would reduce the visual clutter of the Veterans Parkway and Empire Street zone.
Those two roads are some of the busiest in Bloomington-Normal. The constant rumble of cars, trucks and motorcycles could interfere with the peaceful nature setting.
Brewer imagined using old pieces of the mall to erect sound barriers between the park and the street. Plus, all that congestion is just more reason to add greenspace.
“I'm sure it would be challenging to let such a prime piece of real estate go to something that isn't generating income,” he said, “but there so many stores. It could be something different.”
