All those stores, owned by Limited, are gone. There's no bookstore. The stores that have come in are pricier and they don't sell things most of us need or will pay for. Anthropologie is very cool looking, but the clothes wouldn't look good on most anyone over 21, and they cost big. Empty storefronts have become standard since the shopping center was sold to Madison Marquette in 1998.
Vacant space looks dead.
It sends all the wrong psychological signals. You want a shopping space to be a little too crowded, never ever empty. I shop there, but the store is now the destination, not the Village. Still, Old Hyde Park Village is the only pedestrian-friendly place in town. I'm not sure what it is now.