New stores may fill vacancies
The roll of new stores taking over notable slots in Vernon Hills could continue.
Village trustees on Tuesday expect to hear two more pitches for prominent buildings nearly next to each other on the east side of Milwaukee Avenue near Route 60.
Both involve companies new to the area and one is asking for a sales tax incentive that in the past year or so has become a familiar tool for the village as it tries to protect the village's vast commercial sales tax base.
Discussions are scheduled for the informal work session following the regular village board meeting that begins at 7 p.m. at the village hall, 290 Evergreen Drive.
The first involves the space currently operated as the AMC Rivertree Court theater in the Rivertree Court Shopping Center.
Inland Commercial Property Management, the mall owner, proposes to renovate the interior of the theater and build an addition on the south side for Gordmans, a Nebraska-based chain that offers name-brand clothing, fragrances and housewares at a discount.
Gordmans recently signed a lease with Inland to occupy a former Wickes Furniture store in the Algonquin Commons shopping center, the closest location to Vernon Hills.
The status of the theater, which remains in operation, was not immediately known. Inland on Monday declined to comment before the meeting.
The second proposal involves Steinhafel Furniture Superstores, which has several locations in Wisconsin, including Kenosha, Milwaukee and Madison.
The retailer plans to renovate the former EXPO Design Center, which has been vacant for 18 months. The company is said to be under contract to buy the property from Home Depot and wants to close by Jan. 1.
As proposed, the company would spend $350,000 to $500,00 to install windows and improve the exterior appearance. Another $4 million to $5 million would renovate the interior, with a planned opening in August 2011.
That plan comes with a request for a sales tax rebate that would amount to about $729,000 over five to 10 years.
The village staff estimates the store would do up to $30 million in sales, with the village getting about $150,000 half its usual cut during the term of the proposed agreement.
The request is the fifth since the village last fall agreed to a $1.2 million rebate to the owners of the Hawthorn Hills Fashion Square shopping center. That deal brought a Dick's Sporting Goods store and a facelift to a half empty but prominent center on Milwaukee and Route 60.
Others incentives have been given or are being considered for the owners of the former Circuit City building; the owners of the Townline Commons shopping center; and, developers of a retail area on Milwaukee at Gregg's Parkway for a Mariano's grocery store.
“I don't think it's specifically geared to us, per se,” said Assistant Village Manager John Kalmar, of the continuing interest by outsiders in the village's retail space.
“What our board has recognized is that through strategic investments in individual (shopping) centers, we've been able to target users,” that will increase consumer traffic, he added.