PetSmart to Fill Vacant Storefront Left by Blockbuster View Full Caption

PORTAGE PARK — PetSmart plans to take over the storefront left vacant by Blockbuster’s departure from the Six Corners Shopping District 14 months ago, Ald. John Arena (45th) announced.

PetSmart will not open at 4640 W. Irving Park Road until September because it also plans to take over the space next door now used by LifeSource as a community donor center, said Owen Brugh, Arena’s chief of staff. LifeSource's lease ends in August, he added.

Once it opens, PetSmart will share the shopping center with Sears, Jewel, Famous Footwear and Marshalls. LifeSource will move to the shopping center near Milwaukee and Central avenues, Arena said.

“With so many pet owners in our community, this will be a great addition to our neighborhood,” Arena said.

A spokesman for PetSmart said more information about the Six Corners store would be available closer to its opening, which was not revealed on its website.

Blockbuster closed its store at Six Corners in February 2013, and the storefront has been empty since. The once-ubiquitous video rental chain fell victim to video on-demand services such as Netflix as well as rental services like Redbox.

Once the premier shopping district in Chicago outside the Loop, the area near Irving Park Road and Milwaukee and Cicero avenues was home to dozens of stores offering shoppers their hearts' desire and a chance to see a movie at the Portage Theater, built in the 1920s.

But Six Corners fell into decline with the rise of malls in and around Chicago, and has struggled for decades to regain a measure of its former glory.

PetSmart’s decision to open a store at Six Corners is more evidence that the shopping district is finally showing signs of a lasting renaissance, Arena said.

“This development will help continue to lay the foundation for strong sustainable development” at Six Corners, Arena said.

At least eight businesses are scheduled to open in the Six Corners Shopping District this spring, including Chipotle, across the street from the shopping center.

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