Lake in the Hills Dominick's property sells for $5 million
The Lake in the Hills shopping center housing a shuttered Dominick's store was auctioned off Wednesday for $5.05 million.
The starting bid was $1.2 million for the Centre at Lake in the Hills at Randall and Algonquin roads, with 99,451 square feet of retail space housing three buildings - the vacant Dominick's, adjacent in-line shops and an outlot strip building. The center was built in 1997 on 8.5 acres.
A spokesman for auction broker Transwestern said Friday the property is in escrow and the name of the owner would not be released until the closing is finalized.
Village Economic Development Coordinator George Hahne said the village worked closely with Transwestern to aggressively market the property.
He wasn't surprised how much the property sold for due to significant interest shown by dozens of retailers during two open houses in February.
"That's what experts who were walking through estimated that it was worth," Hahne said. "It is a pretty big deal considering that it's a vacant piece of real estate. It's a very valuable piece of real estate."
Since Dominick's closed in December 2013, the site has been eyed by many developers interested in dividing the 72,385-square-foot building among several businesses. Three interested retailers backed out of deals to fill the former supermarket.
Batavia-based discount grocer Aldi was considering building a 21,255-square-foot prototype store within a portion of the Dominick's building, but it is unclear whether those plans are still in the works.
Remaining in-line shop tenants on the property are GNC, H&R Block and Miracle-Ear Hearing Aid Center. That building has four vacant suites totaling 6,000 square feet facing Algonquin Road. A second building facing Randall Road comprises 16,720 square feet of retail space. Tenants include Einstein Brothers Bagels, Yumz Gourmet Yogurt and Jersey Mike's Subs. It has two vacant suites totaling 4,520 square feet.
Several separately owned outlets, including Steak 'n Shake, Taco Bell, White Castle and Woods Creek Tavern, are not a part of the sale.