Lake in the Hills board OKs incentive package for future Big R store
Midwestern retailer Big R is a step closer to opening a store in Lake in the Hills.
The village board Thursday night authorized a $500,000 incentive package paving the way for the traditional department store chain to take over the vacant Dominick's property at the northeast corner of Algonquin and Randall roads.
"This is not upfront money," said George Hahne, Lake in the Hills economic development coordinator. "It is taken over a period of time through sales tax revenue sharing."
Woods Creek Tavern, which opened in early September at 251 Randall Road, received a similar incentive from the village - a refund of 50 percent of sales tax receipts for four years or up to $69,700.
The $500,000 will help Big R offset an estimated $2.1 million in anticipated renovation costs, village documents show.
BBK Properties LLC and the former Dominick's property owner have agreed on a roughly $4.3 million purchase price for the site at 101 N. Randall Road, in the Center at Lake in the Hills shopping center. Big R proposes leasing the property. The entire project is expected to cost $7.8 million, documents show.
Big R plans to renovate and expand the existing building by adding 8,000 square feet on the north side for a total footprint of 80,000 square feet. The project is expected to create 45 full-time jobs and generate roughly $160,000 in yearly sales tax revenue for the village, documents show.
Hahne said the incentive agreement likely will be signed by both parties within two weeks. As part of the application, Big R must disclose its hiring and minimum wage policies, how many jobs the project will create, and detail the extent of work to be done on the property.
The village has been in discussions with the retailer for 10 months. Officials will meet with the developer next week to work on a project timeline and the approval process, Hahne said.
Central Big R Stores, Inc.,- originally Illinois Big R Stores started by Bill and Pat Crabtree in 1964 - opened its first store in Watseka, Illinois. The company now has 18 retail stores in northern Indiana and central and northern Illinois, including one in McHenry that opened in November.
Started by farm and ranch store owners in the western states, the Big R group comprises 12 independent owners with more than 75 stores nationwide, per the company website.
Its stores are a one-stop shop for everything, including apparel for men, women and children, lawn and garden and farm and livestock supplies, sporting goods, and automotive and pet care products.
Work on the Lake in the Hills store would be done over the summer with the goal of opening by mid-October.
"There isn't anything quite like it," Hahne said. "One of the reasons that Big R is going in our community is they see a need for a retail operation that can provide people in Barrington Hills with supplies for their horses and for their ranches and little farms. Things that they need to run those places will now be readily available just down the road instead of having to drive much farther away. Just 4½ miles west of Lake in the Hills is prime Illinois farm country."