It's Standing Room Only at Feil Organizations' North Riverside Park Mall

April 19, 2010

“It’s standing room only at our play area,” reports Harvey Ahbow, general manager of Chicagoland’s North Riverside Park Mall. Five months after installation, the play area has become a community magnet for families and shoppers. Kids come to play on soft animal climbers embracing the popularity of nearby Brookfield Zoo. 

The Feil Organization hired PLAYTIME, LLC to design, manufacture and install the new play area, which boasts a zoo theme and is titled “Safari Kids.”

The shopping center partners with Brookfield Zoo on many family events, so the theme made perfect sense. Play elements include an elephant, cheetah, giraffe, zebra and gorilla, with custom-designed safety carpeting, shoe racks and soft seating for parents.

“It’s really engaging,” says marketing director Lidia Darkova. “The details on the animals are just perfect.”

On a recent walk through the mall, Darkova says she noticed that the play area was chock-full of kids --- with mostly fathers attending them. She looked to the nearby new tenant, Conway’s Clothing and Apparel, and had a chuckle.

“I knew exactly where all the moms were!”

Located just outside Chicago, IL,  North Riverside Park Mall has a surrounding population of 1.2 million people. Many families visit the mall every weekend but they had begun complaining in the last couple years that the play area was too small.

“We’re investing a lot in the center right now in order to draw people during a tough economy,” says Ahbow. “The first thing we tackled was the play area because it was completely overcrowded. Now, it is 40% bigger and absolutely beautiful.”

“If we can get shoppers to spend more time in our mall, they’ll spend more money,” added Darkova. “We’ve created a comfortable and positive environment where families want to spend time.”