Demolition of former Super Kmart in Round Lake Beach to clear way for new Target store
After more than 12 years sitting empty, a frustrating blight on the retail landscape in Round Lake Beach is being erased.
Demolition of the vacant former Super Kmart in the Rollins Crossing center, on the north side of Rollins Road just south of the village municipal complex, began last week.
The rumblings of machinery removing the immense 190,000-square-foot anchor building is music to the ears of village officials, who long have considered it an issue to be addressed.
“There’s nothing like driving by and seeing them break it down,” said Mayor Scott Nickles. “It is incredible to see 13 years of empty blight removed from our community.”
After years passed with no activity, the village took legal action to have it condemned.
Target bought the property before those proceedings concluded and finalized the purchase of the former Super Kmart in December with plans to demolish and replace it with a 148,570-square-foot retail operation.
“We’re excited to create an easy, inspiring and friendly shopping experience that brings Target’s signature style and design at an affordable value to new guests in the Round Lake Beach community in the coming years with this new Target store,” the company said Tuesday in a statement.
It's the same language it used in January when the village announced the sale and pending project. Then as now the company has not released renderings or a projected opening date but promised more specifics as the store opening nears.
“We don’t have any timelines when anything will be completed for the actual date construction will start,” Nickles said. “It is moving forward, that’s for sure.”
Last month, Target announced plans to open more than 30 new stores and remodel more than 130 others in 2026 and open more than 300 new stores by 2035 as part of a strategy to drive “long-term, sustainable growth.”
Among the openings so far is Target’s 2000th store, a 148,000-square-foot “food forward” prototype near Raleigh, North Carolina, with a food and beverage department 30% larger than the chain average.
Also in March, the company announced price reductions on more than 3,000 items to “deliver style and design at an incredible value,” as part of its growth initiative.
Nickles made redeveloping the site a priority since being elected in 2021. A new Target on the spot is regarded as a key to revitalizing the shopping center and boosting sales tax revenue for the village.
“There's going to be quite a bit of change there once this is completed,” Nickles said.
Rollins Crossing, between Civic Center Way and North Orchard Lane, includes several freestanding stores, restaurants and other users. It was purchased a year ago by a national real estate developer with plans to upgrade the center.