An urban explorer known online as Decaying Midwest says he was assaulted by a man he believed to be a security guard while trying to find a way into the recently closed Ford City Mall in Chicago.
The 28-year-old content creator, who has not publicly shared his real name, said the incident happened Monday night as he and a friend were near the former mall property on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Decaying Midwest is known for exploring abandoned and closed buildings and documenting what remains inside. The creator said he and his friend were looking for a way into the shuttered mall when a man in an unmarked white SUV approached them.
According to the explorer, the SUV struck his friend while he was riding a scooter outside the property. He said the same vehicle later followed him through another part of the parking lot.
The explorer said he attempted to get away on a Lime scooter when the man approached him carrying what he described as a piece of metal. He said the object struck his arm.
Chicago police were contacted after the incident, and the explorer said officers were able to locate the white SUV in the parking lot. He said no arrest had been made at the time of the report.
The account has not been independently established as a confirmed assault, and the identity or employment of the person accused of being a security guard has not been publicly confirmed.
Ford City Mall has been closed since June 22, when the main portion of the longtime shopping center was shut down under a court order following concerns about the property’s deteriorating condition and fire-suppression system. The mall had served Chicago’s Southwest Side since opening in 1965.
The closure has also changed the future of the property. Chicago-based Kurv Industrial is pursuing plans to redevelop the former mall site into a four-building industrial campus. Updated plans presented in August include a public plaza, a new CTA bus stop and reconstruction of 76th Street, with the proposed project now estimated at about $200 million.
The redevelopment plans are still subject to the city’s approval process, meaning the future of the former mall property is not yet settled.
For Decaying Midwest, however, the closed mall has already become part of the growing world of urban exploration, where abandoned commercial properties attract creators interested in documenting buildings before they disappear or are redeveloped.
The incident has now added another concern around access to the former mall, as the property remains closed while its ownership and redevelopment plans move forward.
