Retail

Fashion Outlets of Chicago

5M Budget

2024 Year Completed

30,000 Sq Ft.

Interior construction for a major retail destination, including framing, drywall, taping, acoustic ceilings, custom metal pan ceilings, exterior waterproofing, and Level 5 drywall finish.

Scope

Thorne Associates completed the interior construction scope for Fashion Outlets of Chicago, a large-format retail destination that includes some of the most design-forward retail environments in the region. Our work encompassed framing, drywall, taping, acoustic ceilings, custom metal pan ceilings, exterior waterproofing, and a broad application of Level 5 drywall finish throughout the space. The Level 5 finish, which produces a surface quality that closely resembles plaster, was applied at scale across ceilings and represented one of the first major deployments of spray-applied Level 5 finish in a project of this size for Thorne.

Challenges & Highlights

A mall environment at this scale presents physical challenges that standard commercial interiors don’t: soaring ceiling heights, multi-level construction above open balconies, heavy-duty storefront headers, and custom-colored metal pan ceiling systems that required precision fabrication and installation. Coordinating across these conditions while delivering the highest available drywall finish standard across an expansive retail environment required both technical capability and field experience.

Results

Fashion Outlets of Chicago has become one of the busiest retail destinations in the region, and Thorne has continued to work within the property on behalf of its tenants in the years since the original buildout. That ongoing relationship is a direct reflection of the standard we set on the first project, and it captures something true about how Thorne operates: when we do good work, clients don’t look elsewhere.