Auction of Lake in the Hills shopping centers delayed
An auction to sell off two Lake in the Hills retail shopping centers - one housing a closed Dominick's store - scheduled for last month has been delayed possibly another month or two.
The Centre at Lake in the Hills at Randall and Algonquin roads, with 99,451 square feet of retail space housing three buildings, including the vacant Dominick's, adjacent in-line shops and an outlot strip building, is up for sale. The center was built in 1997 on roughly 10 acres.
Another 16,700-square-foot strip mall just to the north - housing an Einstein Bros. Bagels, Noodles and Company and Cold Stone Creamery - also is on the auction block as a package deal for a starting bid of $1.5 million.
Village Economic Development Coordinator George Hahne said the auction could happen within 30 to 60 days according to the broker, though he didn't know why the sale was delayed.
A spokesman for LNR Property, which owns the Centre at Lake in the Hills, or auction broker Transwestern could not be reached Tuesday.
The Dominick's site has been eyed by many developers over the years interested in dividing the building among several businesses.
Albertsons, the parent company of Jewel-Osco, bought the leases for many Dominick's stores, including the one in Lake in the Hills. The lease with LNR Property expired April 30.
Since Dominick's closed in early 2014, three interested retailers backed out of deals to fill the former supermarket. Midwestern retailer Big R gave up its plan to renovate and expand the building last August.
The latest retailer interested in the property is Aldi. The Batavia-based discount grocer is looking into building a 21,255-square-foot prototype store within a portion of the 72,000-square-foot Dominick's building, Hahne said.
Aldi has more than 1,600 stores in 35 states. Its new prototype concept would have twice as much space as a typical Aldi, with a meat counter and liquor area, Hahne said.
Prototype Aldi stores, which have debuted in other markets, have softer lighting, a larger fresh produce section, wider aisles, and electronic wall displays. Aldi plans to spend $1.6 billion to remodel and expand more than 1,300 stores by 2020 - making more room for fresh and organic produce, dairy, bakery and meat sections - and invest $3.4 billion to expand to 2,500 stores nationwide by the end of 2022, according to a company news release.
"The village of Lake in the Hills would love to have the new Aldi prototype store there," Hahne said. "If Aldi comes to that center, the rest of it will fill up rather quickly."
An Aldi spokeswoman would not confirm Tuesday whether the company plans to open a store in Lake in the Hills.
"Across suburban Chicago, we have quite a few remodeled stores reopening later this month with a fresh new look," said Heather Moore, ALDI Dwight Division vice president.
Remodeled stores in Lisle (5525 Route 53), St. Charles (2670 W. Main St.) and North Aurora (199 Miler Drive) are scheduled to reopen Aug. 23, Aug. 24 and Aug. 31, respectively.
"All three stores will offer a modern and convenient shopping experience," Moore said. "Local customers will notice a focus on fresh items, including more robust produce, dairy and bakery sections. The stores will also feature open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally-friendly building materials, such as recycled materials, energy-saving refrigeration and LED lighting."