American Eagle Outfitters will open a flagship featuring three of the clothing retailer’s store brands in one huge space on Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue, extending to a burst of leasing activity on one of the nation’s top retail high streets.
The Pittsburgh-based retailer told CoStar News that it has signed a lease for 14,182 square feet at 600 N. Michigan Ave.
Moving into a long-vacant former AT&T store and adjacent space on the ground floor, the retailer said it will open a flagship in summer 2027. It will feature three store concepts: American Eagle Outfitters, women’s brand Aerie and athleisure brand Offline by Aerie.
The three stores will have separate entrances, but they will be connected internally, according to Brad Downs, senior director of real estate.
He said it will be the company’s fourth-largest retail space. The three largest are in New York City.
The deal adds to a wave of recent deals on the city’s best-known retail boulevard after a stretch of historically low demand in recent years.
Downs said the other recent deals on North Michigan Avenue contributed to the company’s decision to go big on the street.
“That’s a big part of the reason that we thought the right time for us is now,” Downs said. “We noticed that daytime office population and tourism have come back. We’re looking forward to being front and center in the greatest city in the Midwest.”
Local retail brokerage Kirsh Agency estimated that dealmaking would double in 2026 on the approximately 1-mile stretch of Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River.
In one huge deal recently unveiled, a 60,000-square-foot Candy Hall of Fame Experience is set to open next year on multiple levels at 830 N. Michigan Ave.
High-profile openings have included a huge, Harry Potter-themed store and the return to the avenue of Japanese retailer Uniqlo — the latter deal also at 600 N. Michigan.
The owner of 600 N. Michigan, New York-based Clarion Partners, last year signed interactive games provider Urban Playground to a lease in the multilevel retail property.
That is part of a string of deals on the street that have cut into what had been record-high availability.
In one big step back for the street, Saks Global recently included a massive Saks Fifth Avenue store at 700 N. Michigan on a list of national closures.
American Eagle retailer has stores within shopping malls in the Chicago suburbs, but it hadn’t had a presence in the city since closing an American Eagle Outfitters store in the Water Tower Place on North Michigan Avenue about two years ago.
Downs said the retailer already has strong online and in-person sales in the Chicago area even without a store in the city, with the new space expected to further increase sales.
For the record
American Eagle was represented by CBRE brokers Jim Sakanich and Riley McCarron. The landlord was represented by Mid-America Real Estate brokers Dick Spinell, Marget Graham and Stanley Nitzberg.