The retailer has chosen the Arboretum of South Barrington as itsfirst Chicago area location. The company signed a lease for a30,000 sf store at the property, a 600,000-sf lifestyle center atthe intersection of Illinois Routes 59 and 72. The term of thelease for L.L. Bean is 15 years, says Michael Jaffe, president ofJaffe Cos.

The location will be the company's 11th store and the firststore that is not in the Northeast corridor, the spokeswoman says.The Chicago area was chosen because L.L. Bean already has a largecustomer base here, she says. South Barrington "is some place thatdid have an appeal to us with the new lifestyle center as well asthe location within Chicago," she says.

Jaffe Cos., based in Northbrook, IL, is developing the lifestylecenter with Rreef being a capital partner. The $200 million projectis being constructed on an 86-acre parcel that is the site of aformer tree nursery and less than a mile from Interstate 90. "TheArboretum distinguished itself for L.L. Bean because of itsproximity to the highway and the four-way interchange at Interstate90, the quality of the project, the caliber of the co-tenancy andthe architectural and landscaping detail," Jaffe says.