Rhino Investments Group has added Randhurst Village in Mount Prospect, Illinois, to its Chicago-area portfolio, but the interesting part of the deal is not simply the size of the property. It is what sits at the heart of the retail destination: two powerful grocery-led traffic generators, Jewel-Osco and Costco.
The approximately 932,000-square-foot open-air centre attracts millions of visitors each year and combines food shopping with home improvement, fashion, entertainment, fitness and everyday services. Rhino is the second major Chicago-area retail acquisition for the company in the past year, following its purchase of The Promenade Bolingbrook.
For the grocery industry, Randhurst is another reminder that supermarkets and warehouse clubs can play a much bigger role in a retail property than simply selling food. They create regular shopping trips, bring consumers into a wider retail environment and can help support the businesses around them.
Riad Beladi, Editor of International Supermarket News, comments:
“What interests me about Randhurst is not the real estate transaction itself, but the power of grocery to shape a retail destination. When you have Jewel-Osco and Costco drawing shoppers alongside retail, services and entertainment, the supermarket becomes part of the wider consumer ecosystem. Retail property owners are clearly looking at grocery differently today — not simply as another tenant, but as one of the engines that keeps the whole destination moving.”
Rhino has said it will assess further leasing and development opportunities at Randhurst, suggesting the acquisition could become more than a change of ownership as the company looks at how the site can evolve.
