Fresh Market headed to Glen Ellyn retail center
A new high-end grocery store is coming to Glen Ellyn next year, thanks in part to a sales tax sharing agreement formally approved by the village board Monday.
Come next fall, The Fresh Market grocer will anchor a $12 million, 34,200-square-foot retail center at 285 Roosevelt Road, in a space formerly occupied by Packey Webb Dodge, which closed a showroom there in 2008.
As a whole, the development will be called the Glen Market, and will include some 10,000 square feet of retail space for as many as five retailers. A dry cleaner with a drive through is proposed for the east side of the property, though a restaurant could locate there in the future, according to Staci Hulseberg, the village's director of planning and development.
The Fresh Market could be a direct competitor to Mariano's Fresh Market, which is expected to open at the former Hubble Middle School site in Wheaton next spring.
On Monday, the village board unanimously approved zoning variations for the development and an economic incentives package that officials from Opus Development Corp. said were essential in making the project a reality.
As part of the sales tax sharing arrangement, the village will receive the first 10 percent of all sales tax revenue, and the remaining portion will be split, with 60 percent going to the village and 40 percent going to the developer. The arrangement ends after 10 years, or once Opus receives $1 million, whichever comes first.
The village will also pay Opus $793,000 to cover the costs of construction of Taft Avenue between Lorraine Street and Lambert Road behind the store. The reimbursement will be paid once the improvements are completed by the developer, and The Fresh Market is open for one day, according to the terms of the agreement.
Village officials said they expect to recoup those costs over a period of six or seven years through sales tax revenues.
They also estimated the village's 10-year net revenue increase to be $678,000.
The village board agreed to the economic incentive agreement in concept last December, but the project was delayed due to “ongoing and complicated negotiations” between Opus and The Fresh Market, and Opus and property owner Brad Webb, according to Village Manager Mark Franz.
He said some of the issues included environmental and land costs, and improvements to Taft Avenue. Some amendments to the DuPage County stormwater ordinance reduced some of Opus' potential costs, but those were offset by environmental cleanup and “bad soil” cost estimates, Franz said.
Since a portion of the 3.2-acre site is located in Wheaton, approvals for construction of Taft Avenue and a parking lot will be considered by the city council Dec. 3.
The Fresh Market has signed a lease for the building, and a closing is scheduled for January. Demolition of the old dealership is planned for February, with construction set to begin in the spring.
The grocer could open as soon as next fall.