Multiple popular stores are set to come to Chicago’s iconic Michigan Avenue shopping strip, marking a potential retail comeback for the area.
According to a release from Mid-America Real Estate, American Eagle Outfitters signed a lease for a new flagship store at 600 North Michigan Avenue. The 14,182 square-foot store, set to open July 1, 2027, marks the brand’s second flagship store in the U.S., with one also in New York City, the release said.
Across the street, popular Japanese retailer Uniqlo recently opened a flagship store, marking the company’s return to the Magnificent Mile after more than a decade.
The real estate firm added that Michigan Avenue is continuing to “draw investment from national and global retailers,” including the 2024 opening of Aritzia. The 50,000 square-foot flagship store took over a former Gap space.
The North Face is also expected to reopen on the Mag Mile, the firm said, along with “The Cube,” a London-based Urban Playground set to make its U.S. debut on the third floor of 600 North Michigan Ave.
Chicago’s Magnificent Mile could be seeing a retail revitalization as popular brands vie for prime spots on the stretch of shops. Randy Gyllenhaal reports.
Other new additions to the Mag Mile are Leica, a high-end camera company that recently opened at 800 N. Michigan Ave., and the Candy Hall of Fame Experience, a massive 60,000-square-foot, multi-level candy “destination” coming to 830 N. Michigan Ave. in 2027.
According to a report from Crain’s Chicago Business, other retailers already on Michigan Avenue are expected to make moves, moving into new locations on the Mag Mile.
“North Michigan Avenue has been and will continue to be ‘One of The Ten Great Avenues of the World,'” Stan Nitzberg, principal at Mid-America Real Estate Corporation said. “There are cycles in retail and real estate. North Michigan Avenue retail is enjoying very positive momentum.”
At the end of 2025, the availability rate on the Mag Mile was at 29.3% in July 2024, after rising to roughly 34% in the years since the pandemic, according to data from a Chicago-based accounting firm.
American Eagle’s Michigan Ave. store will be the brand’s comeback to the city after a location on State Street closed years ago. The new store that spans approximately 14,000-square-feet will have three floors, each one dedicated to a store for one of three of their brands: the namesake American Eagle Outfitters’ brand, their intimates brand Aerie and activewear brand Offline, according to the firm.
