Retailer Active Endeavors will make a cross town move this fall, opening its doors at a Church Street Plaza location by Oct. 1, Active Endeavors President and Co-Owner Bob Davis said.
The store, which sells outdoorwear and clothing, will vacate from its two-story location at 1527 Chicago Ave. and move to 901 Church St., the former space of Baja Fresh Mexican Grill. Baja Fresh closed in July.
“We have felt there’s a significant amount of downtown businesses moving west as a result of the (Century 12 Evanston) theater” at 1715 Maple Ave., Davis said. “We hope to increase our foot traffic there. We’re a little bit on the periphery of the business district.”
Active Endeavors is the newest tenant of Church Street Plaza, the $90 million development that opened in November 2000. The plaza is anchored by the 18-screen movie theater.
Active Endeavors will join American Apparel, 950 Church St., and Urban Outfitters, 921 Church St., as a clothing retailer in Church Street Plaza. Though the three retailers’ demographics overlap, Active Endeavors’ outdoor brands, such as Patagonia, set it apart, Davis said.
“We see ourselves as a blend of technical as well as fashion,” Davis said. “There will be some crossover with Urban Outfitters, but (our store) will be different.”
Active Endeavors is an Evanston-based company that was founded in 1985. The company has other locations in downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park, Glencoe, Ill., and Boulder, Colo.
The new space first will need renovations, such as revamping the area that served as a kitchen.
“The size of the business has changed over the last five years,” Davis said. “We used to do a lot of camping gear and outdoor gear. Now we do more clothing. The (current store’s) size and space layout is really not what we envision as an ideal retail layout.”
The Church Street location will be an open boutique, instead of the segmented layout of the current store, Reid said.
The warehouse area behind the Church Street space will be used for the company’s administrative and Internet functions. Active Endeavor’s online store “has become a huge part” of the business, Davis said. Order processing, shipping, customer service and other parts of the Web business will take place in this warehouse area, he said. Those tasks now take place on the current store’s second floor in a much smaller space, he added.
“We’re picking up a large amount of less expensive space up at the new location,” Davis said.
Active Endeavor’s move to Church Street Plaza illustrates the vitality and opportunity in downtown Evanston, said Bruce Reid, managing partner for realty company Arthur Hill & Co. Arthur Hill owns Church Street Plaza.
“We’re delighted an established and popular Evanston merchant is joining us at Church Street Plaza,” Reid said.
Reach Beth Murtagh at [email protected].
