CHICAGO (June 4, 2018) — Related Midwest today announced the June opening of “Box Shops by Related,” a pop-up container market that will feature local businesses and be anchored by Related Midwest and Equinox, a lifestyle, fitness and wellness brand affiliated with Related Companies.

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 marks the developer’s first collaboration with Chicago-based Latent Design. The container market will bring a lifestyle and design-centric shopping experience to Chicago’s burgeoning West Loop, where temporary storefronts will showcase goods and services from entrepreneurs, local artists and Equinox. The market will open on Friday, June 15, with daily hours from noon to 10 p.m. It will remain open through the end of 2018.

“We are thrilled to bring this retail experience to Chicago in an effort to enhance the community and support area businesses, including everyone from independent artisans to world-class brands like Equinox,” said Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest. “As the gateway to a neighborhood that recognizes and appreciates creativity, 725 W. Randolph is the perfect place to showcase our city’s thriving community of entrepreneurial retailers.”

The containers or “units,” part of Latent Design’s Boombox concept, will be 160-square-foot micro buildings housed in former 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 for the June opening of the Box Shops at 725 W. Randolph include Equinox; Kido Chicago, maker of eco-friendly kids clothing; digitalKENTE, maker of vibrant graphic-patterned athletic wear; ReformedSchool, a brand combining art, fashion and eco-friendly materials to create bow ties, tote bags and home goods; and Some Odd Pilot, a creative agency and gallery.

In addition to the storefronts, Box Shops by Related will feature a multi-sports court behind the containers that will be sponsored by Equinox, which will also use the space to host signature fitness classes each week that will be open to the public. The company will also have an Equinox-branded container that will echo the environment of their state-of-the-art fitness clubs and have ongoing programming and events available throughout the year. Other features of the container market include a courtyard with multiple seating areas; a beer garden from Haymarket Pub & Brewery; and a colorful 40-foot mural by Chicago-based visual artist Lefty Out There (aka Franco Campanella) featuring his distinctive “squiggle” linework.

The cost to rent a Box Shops container starts at $1,000 a month. For more information on Box Shops by Related or to apply to rent a container unit, visit boxshopsbyrelated.com and select “Become a Vendor.”

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 apartments, an Equinox health club and the Midwest’s first Equinox Hotel. To learn more, visit relatedmidwest.com.

About Equinox:

Equinox operates 92 upscale, full-service clubs in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as international locations in London, Toronto, and Vancouver. The company offers an integrated selection of Equinox-branded programs, services and products, including strength and cardio training, studio classes, personal training, spa services and products, apparel and food/juice bars. Launching in 2019, Equinox Hotels will cater exclusively to the high-performance traveler to serve as the ultimate hotel destination with a 360-degree lifestyle experience. For more than 25 years, Equinox has consistently offered bespoke experiences and unparalleled services to consumers, developing a lifestyle brand that represents service, value, quality, expertise, innovation, attention to detail, market leadership and results.

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 vendor 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.