Ford City Mall lands apparel discounter

A Fallas discount store is coming to the Ford City Mall on Chicago's Southwest Side. National Stores Inc. leased 22,545 square feet at the 1 million-square-foot mall for a Fallas apparel and home goods store, the company said in a statement. Susan Wempe, senior vice president at Gardena, Calif.-based National Stores, in the statement cited high population density and the mall's longtime presence on the Southwest Side as two reasons the firm decided to ink a deal at the property, 7601 S. Cicero Ave. A spokeswoman for New York-based iStar Financial Inc., which took the mall back from Chicago real estate investor Sam Zell earlier this year, had no immediate comment. Chicago-based U.S. Equities Realty manages Ford City while Dallas-based SRS Real Estate Partners handles leasing there for iStar. Lease terms were not disclosed.