REI To Relocate Lincoln Park Store

CHICAGO, IL — REI will be closing its store at 1466 N. Halsted Street on the North Side and is planning to open a larger store along the banks of the Chicago River, the retailer announced Wednesday. The new location at 1466 N. Halsted Street will be larger by 10,000 square feet and offer paddleboard and kayak rentals, REI said. The store will also have a ski and snowboard shop and a bike shop, the retailer said.

The retailer will convert the current space on Halsted — a two-story industrial building — into 40,000 square feet of retail space and an outdoor patio, REI said.

“The relocation of our Lincoln Park store will help us better connect people in Chicago to a life outdoors,” said Mike Daurio, REI Lincoln Park store manager. “We’ll offer direct access to kayak and paddleboard adventures on the Chicago River and a wider selection of gear for hiking, biking and camping."

REI first came to Lincoln Park in 2008. The co-op has more than 160,000 members in the city, the retailer said.

The store is making a strategic move: the new space will sit in the city's Wild Mile, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel has plans for a boardwalk, vegetative islands, fishing stations and numerous wildlife preservation initiatives as part of his "two waterfront city" plan.

“REI is joining our efforts to invest in Chicago’s riverfront and transforming it into the city’s next recreational frontier,” said Emanuel. “Together we are building on the blueprint of Daniel Burnham’s Plan for Chicago, so that our children inherit a more active, more vibrant and more inclusive city than ever before.”

The city launched the plan two years ago to invest in public spaces across the city — a vision inspired by architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham, who published the Plan of Chicago in 1909.

The new REI store is scheduled to open in early 2019.

Top images: 1. The current REI location at 1466 N. Halsted - image via Google Maps Streetview. Images 2, 3, 4: renderings courtesy of REI.