DOWNTOWN — As questions about Water Tower Place’s future swirl, city leaders say a new plan will prevent the historic mall from becoming another casualty of the pandemic-era retail collapse — and could spark fresh momentum for the Mag Mile’s ongoing revival.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) hinted at the changes during a town hall meeting on March 26 with the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, acknowledging that the market for large vertical malls like Water Tower Place, once “wildly successful,” is now “past its prime.”
Water Tower Place opened in 1975 at 835 N. Michigan Ave. on the Magnificent Mile. As the first indoor mall in the city, it was considered a beacon for shoppers and an anchor for the corridor…