never materialized. Although an attorney representing the businesses in question estimated the mall to be about fifteen percent vacant, Wilmorite executives refused to reveal how much of the mall had been leased. The lawsuit was never finalized. Regal Cinemas built a movie theater at the mall in 1999, taking the northwest corner of the mall which was originally planned for a fifth anchor store. JCPenney closed its store at Charlestowne Mall in 2000 due to low sales. Its former location was sold that same year to Von Maur. The location was Von Maur's second in the Chicago market after Yorktown Center in Lombard. John Anderson, then the chief executive officer of Wilmorite, said at the time that the addition of Von Maur had the potential to bring more "upscale" stores to the mall. The store was slightly larger than the former location of JCPenney, as Von Maur also assumed mall space previously occupied by a shoe store and a beauty salon. After renovation, Von Maur opened in early 2001. As a condition of opening Von Maur, Wilmorite received a $9 million sales tax rebate from the city of St. Charles. In addition, Eddie Bauer and Noodle Kidoodle opened at the mall in 2000. Initially, Eddie Bauer's agreement with Wilmorite stated that they would open a store at the mall if Wilmorite successfully opened Von Maur; Eddie Bauer representatives later stated that they decided to open at the mall regardless of Von Maur's involvement, due to a large number of customers from the area who ordered from the company's catalog or website. Other stores that opened leading up to Von Maur's opening included Whitehall Jewelers, Gymboree, and footwear store Athletic Attic. Target also built a store across from the mall in 2001. Decline After only two years in business, the mall's movie theater was sold to Classic Cinemas, a theater company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. The company closed the theater from July to October 2001 in order to renovate it with new signage. As a result of this acquisition, Classic Cinemas owned all three movie theaters serving the city of St. Charles at the time. In 2002, several new tenants opened at the mall. These included Zumiez, Champs Sports, Zales, Sam Goody, and Hollister Co. In addition, American Eagle Outfitters expanded its store, and Claire's relocated to the former location of Afterthoughts, which it acquired that year. A year later,