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Related Midwest announces “Box Shops by Related” container market in Chicago’s West Loop to return in June

The pop-up market at 725 W. Randolph will showcase lifestyle brands and local businesses in innovative retail setup.

Related Midwest today announced the June return of “Box Shops by Related,” a pop-up container market that will offer a lifestyle and design-centric shopping experience, along with outdoor event, recreational and lounge space at the east end of the West Loop’s Restaurant Row.

Located at 725 W. Randolph St., where Related Midwest is planning a 370-unit mixed-use tower featuring the Midwest’s first Equinox Hotel® and a 30,000-square-foot Equinox health club, Box Shops by Related is a collaboration with Chicago-based Latent Design. The container market’s custom-designed temporary storefronts will offer local entrepreneurs an elevated setting to showcase their goods and services in the growing West Loop neighborhood. The market will open on Saturday, June 1 with hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and remain open through October.

“We are thrilled to once again offer this novel retail experience in the epicenter of the West Loop to showcase creative entrepreneurs and local businesses,” said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest. “Building on last year’s success, we are also expanding the entertainment and recreational offerings, appealing to all age groups, to engage with the surrounding community.”

The containers or “units,” part of Latent Design’s Boombox concept, are 160-square-foot micro buildings housed in repurposed shipping containers. The containers provide a non-traditional brick-and-mortar opportunity for retailers—including those who desire more flexibility than a typical storefront allows—while offering shoppers an exciting way to discover and sample services and goods against a backdrop of exceptional design.

Vendors scheduled thus far include Glassbaby, maker of artisanal hand blown glassware; Whim Golf, an upscale men’s sportswear brand; Sir Dogwood, a curator of quality dogwear and accessories; and Itsapop, a purveyor of gourmet ice pops returning for the second year.

In addition to the storefronts, Box Shops by Related will offer programming catered to all ages, including a collegiate-sized multi-sports court located behind the containers for corporate rentals and open play, a beer garden with craft beer from Haymarket Pub & Brewery and a colorful 40-foot mural by Chicago-based visual artist Lefty Out There (a.k.a. Franco Campanella) featuring his distinctive squiggle linework. In addition, the courtyard will offer jumbo games, lounge seating and scheduled outdoor events such as “Brewdogs” pup meetups, “Box Beats” music series and “Movies Out of The Box” throughout the season.

The cost to rent a Box Shops container starts at $1,250 a month. Box Shops by Related is also available for event rentals. Outdoor spaces may be rented as a package or individually starting at $500. For more information or to apply to rent a container unit, visit boxshopsbyrelated.com and select “Become a Vendor.”

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About Related Midwest:
Related Midwest, the Chicago office of Related Companies, is the preeminent developer of luxury condominium and rental homes, affordable housing communities and mixed-use properties in Chicago. Known for its architecturally significant, market-defining projects, including 500 Lake Shore Drive, OneEleven and Landmark West Loop, Related Midwest is also recognized for its progressive leadership in five-star property management, historic preservation, environmental sustainability and community hiring.

The company’s current projects include One Bennett Park, a Robert A.M. Stern Architects-designed ultra-luxury residential tower in Streeterville, with an adjacent park by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Lathrop, a historic mixed-income riverfront community on the North Side; and Roosevelt Square, a multi-phase, mixed-income community on the Near West Side. Related Midwest is also planning two of Chicago’s most anticipated developments: 400 Lake Shore Drive, located on the site of the former Chicago Spire project in Streeterville, where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan; and The 78, a 62-acre, mixed-use neighborhood development—one of the largest real estate projects ever conceived in Chicago—that includes a half-mile of river frontage between the Loop and Chinatown. In the West Loop, the firm has proposed a luxury condominium tower at 900 W. Randolph St., in the neighborhood's Fulton Market District, as well as a mixed-use tower at 725 W. Randolph St. that will include luxury residences, an Equinox health club and the Midwest’s first Equinox Hotel. To learn more, visit www.relatedmidwest.com.

About Latent Design:
Latent Design is a progressive architecture firm and strategic urban design consultant with a commitment to community development in Chicago. Latent Design’s highly collaborative process of define-design-deploy allows us to fully integrate all aspects of project into a comprehensive implementation strategy. Minority- and women-owned, the firm has received numerous international awards and has shifted design practice for social impact. To learn more, visit latentdesign.net.

About Boombox:
Boombox is a prefabricated pop-up retail structure using upcycled shipping containers to provide short-term pop-up retail opportunities for local entrepreneurs and community activators. Boombox combines the successful features of pop-up shops and festival booths. It provides innovative transitional retail spaces at affordable prices. Available to rent for short-term, this exceptionally designed space will become an iconic attraction that will rival coveted storefront locations without the capital commitment. Latent Design developed the concept, worked in tandem with the city to develop new policy, designed and constructed the final product and was the first to launch in 2015. Since launching, more than 80 unique vendors have been featured, with over 80% of those businesses being women- or minority-owned and 7 opening their own storefront afterwards. To learn more about Boombox, visit boomboxchicago.com.

Contacts

Taylor Johnson Public Relations:
Amanda Cienkus
(312) 267-4524
[email protected]

Taylor Johnson Public Relations:
Gretchen Muller
(312) 267-4511
[email protected]