In 2022, WS Development, a Boston-based real estate development company, purchased Plaza del Lago in Wilmette, Illinois, having recently renovated Edens Plaza. 

The Plaza is a small mall and market area on Sheridan Road, just across the street from Lake Michigan. The historic plaza was built in 1928 and is the second-oldest outdoor shopping center in the country. The mix of small businesses, local food, and the buildings’ cozy Spanish architecture has made Plaza del Lago a treasured part of the North Shore community for almost a century. 

Recently though, the Plaza has become less enticing to people than it used to be. With the rise of online shopping, empty buildings are becoming increasingly common, and the small amounts of outdoor space make it mostly a car-centered market. WS Development wants to change this. 

“The goal is to bring Plaza del Lago back to its former glory,” Brittany Mundarain, the project’s general manager, said. 

The team at WS aims to bring together a group of diverse businesses to bring this plan to life and make a new community hub. 

“[Customers] can come and in the morning go to a pilates class, and then after pilates go to brunch with their girlfriends,” Mundarain said. “Then they can do a little shopping or come here with their family.”

The architecture of the Plaza is one of the main parts of its charm. The strong Spanish design influence gives the area a cozier feel to other malls or plazas. WS has no plans on changing this, as it wants to keep the foundations of the space while also giving it more energy. Mockups of possible changes to Plaza Del Lago can be found on WS’s website.

WS also plans to host community events to draw people back to the Plaza.

“Whether that be children’s programming, outdoor fitness, movie nights in the courtyard or holiday activities with Santa, we want to do them in a unique way that’s true to the brand,” Mundarain said. “Trying to create those multiple touchpoints where people want to come here all the time and that this will be their third place.”

With WS’s new goals, some of the businesses didn’t fit its mold. Just recently, Yellow Bird, a gift and stationery store, and Cluckers Charcoal Chicken, a chicken restaurant, had their leases ended. Both small businesses were forced to relocate to different locations across the North Shore. 

With empty space increasing at Plaza del Lago, as WS seeks to make changes, the development company said they plan to release a list of 10 new businesses coming to the Plaza over the next year and a half. 

Two businesses that have been downsized due to their leases ending at Plaza del Lago, StretchLab and Just Food for Dogs, don’t seem to have any problems with their move.

“I’m actually ok with the move,” Christina Jackson, a worker at Just Food for Dogs, said. “It’s really good for us too. [We are] next door to Starbucks, so we actually get more customers and dogs that come in.”

Another small business, StretchLab, was forced to relocate as well. It moved from the northwest corner of the plaza to the southeast corner, where it now resides in a much smaller space.

“It allows us to actually see people walk by the front, but over there, we were kind of tucked in the back,” Yafet Ambaye, a worker at StretchLab, said.

The worst problem StretchLab has had with the new location is some customers have trouble locating a nearby parking spot, Jonathan Connerly-Bey, a StretchLab worker, said. 

Not everyone was as lucky to only get relocated across the Plaza. 

Hanig’s Footwear, Yellow Bird, and Clucker’s Charcoal Kitchen were taken out of the Plaza. Luckily, customers can still find these businesses in locations in the area. Hanig’s Footwear can be found at 1181 Wilmette Ave., in Wilmette, Illinois, Clucker’s Charcoal Kitchen can be found at their Highwood, Illinois location at 405 North Sheridan Road, and Yellow Bird is currently building a new space at 1199 Wilmette Ave. in Wilmette.