Spring Hill Mall: The Rise and Fall
Spring Hill Mall opened in 1980 and was the Fox Valley's shopping hub for decades. How it declined, why West Dundee bought it, and what comes next on the 100-acre site.
For people in the Fox Valley, Spring Hill Mall was the mall. It opened in 1980 on the line between West Dundee and Carpentersville, and for years it was where families from Elgin, the Dundees, Carpentersville, Algonquin and Barrington did their shopping. Today it's gone, and the village that bought it is planning what comes next.
The early years
Spring Hill opened in 1980 with big department stores and a long row of shops. Over the years it had five department stores, among them Sears, Marshall Field's (later Macy's), JCPenney and Carson Pirie Scott. The holiday decorations and the long rows of shops made it a regular weekend stop for families across the area.
The decline
Like a lot of malls, Spring Hill started to struggle in the 2000s and 2010s:
- JCPenney closed its Spring Hill store in 2011.
- Online shopping and newer outdoor shopping centers pulled customers away.
- Anchors closed one by one, including Sears, Carson's (when the chain went under in 2018), and the Macy's that replaced Marshall Field's.
- Redevelopment plans came and went.
By the end, much of the interior was empty. The mall closed in March 2024.
West Dundee steps in
Instead of waiting for a private buyer, the Village of West Dundee bought the mall a piece at a time:
- In 2023, the village bought the closed Sears store and the closed Macy's.
- In 2024, it bought the core of the mall and the former Carson's.
In all, the village spent more than $13 million to buy the property and tear it down. Demolition ran from May through November 2025.
What's next
With a cleared site of roughly 100 acres, West Dundee has held community meetings and previewed design ideas for a mixed-use development with housing, shopping and entertainment. Officials have said full redevelopment could take as long as ten years.
Memories
Ask anyone from the Fox Valley about Spring Hill and you'll hear about first jobs, the arcade, back-to-school shopping, seeing Santa, and meeting friends there in high school. It's a story that's played out across the country, but for the Fox Valley, Spring Hill was ours.
For more of the area's history, see the Elgin National Watch Company.
Sources (3)
Daily Herald: West Dundee begins exterior demolition of shuttered Spring Hill Mall; Daily Herald: Now that Spring Hill Mall is gone, West Dundee revving up effort to redevelop site; The Real Deal: West Dundee pitches 100-acre Spring Hill Mall site.
Photo: Spring Hill Mall Entrance by CalciumRods, CC BY 4.0.