Challenges remain, but Mt. Prospect leaders say business picking up in village
Business is picking up in Mount Prospect, village officials say.
Speaking Thursday at a yearly economic development breakfast, village leaders said that with the economy showing signs of recovery, developers are eager to locate in Mount Prospect's commercial areas.
The uptick in activity can be seen throughout town, but the area in and around the Randhurst Village shopping center has been particularly vital, Community Development Director Bill Cooney said.
Randhurst Village, located at Rand and Elmhurst roads, opened in 2011, several years after the owners decided to demolish the struggling indoor mall that had been located there and reinvent the site as an open-air center. Randhurst Village now consists of a Main Street-style shopping area that's supplemented by numerous dining and entertainment outlets.
Among the center's major tenants are Carson Pirie Scott, Bed Bath & Beyond, e + o Food and Drink restaurant and an AMC 12 movie theater complex. New tenants are coming, Cooney said, including Outback Steakhouse, which will open where a Borders store used to stand.
Since Randhurst Village opened, other commercial areas on Rand Road have showed renewed life, Cooney said. The Rand Road corridor generates roughly 75 percent of the village's sales, he said.
"Big corporations want to locate along Rand Road. They see the investment that was made at Randhurst," he said.
Recent success stories along Rand include the addition of major tenants like L.A. Fitness to Mount Prospect Plaza at Rand and Central roads, and the opening of Havana Joe's Cigar Lounge at 211 E. Rand.
Some challenges remain, village leaders said. The Kensington Business Center, a 300-acre business park near Rand and Kensington roads, has a vacancy rate of between 20 percent and 25 percent, Cooney said. He said the village is taking steps to beautify the site and help with marketing efforts.
And inside Randhurst, many of the smaller retail spots in the Main Street section remain empty. JP Morgan Chase & Co., the current owner of Randhurst, recently put the center up for sale. Cooney believes that having a new owner will help get those spots filled.
"It's the last step that needs to be taken there," he said.
Mayor Arlene Juracek said the business climate in Mount Prospect is strong, and she thanked her predecessors, former mayors Irvana Wilks and Gerald L. "Skip" Farley, for laying the groundwork during often-difficult times.
"It's certainly great to be mayor when the economy is on the upswing," she said with a smile.