Liberty Plaza shopping center in Wauconda demolished

A wrecking crew was making the final push Wednesday to remove an old strip center in Wauconda ahead of a possible change in scenery for the site.

The former Liberty Plaza shopping center at 474 W. Liberty St. (Route 176 at Brown Street) had been home to Kumon Math and Reading Center, Sunsplash Tan, H & R Block and Edward Jones Investments, but is being cleared for possible redevelopment.

Its owner, Equity Inc., of Lake Forest, is looking nationally for developers, said Linda Krajniak, the village’s director of economic development.

The idea of demolishing the property arose this year and the permit for the work recently was authorized. Equity Inc. thinks there is a better opportunity for redevelopment with the site cleared, according to the village, but that is a relatively recent decision.

“It hasn’t been something we’ve known about for years,” she said.

To start the process, representatives from Habitat for Humanity went through the interior to reclaim materials.

“It was a very organized, methodical demolition,” said Village Administrator David Geary, who grew up in town and remembers a grocery store being located there in the 1960s.

A representative for Equity Inc., was not immediately available Wednesday. There has been interest from smaller retail chains, according to the village website, although there are no specific plans at this time.

“The plan is to market it as a redevelopment,” Geary said. “A redevelopment of that site would look different today than when they built it many years ago.”

The lot extends well beyond the buildings.

“The property is actually double what you see from the front,” Krajniak said.

The village’s comprehensive plan, which is being updated, shows the area as retail/commercial.

“There already was designed a roadway working its way into the back to make that property more accessible,” Geary said.

As in years past, a portion of the property will be made available for Boy Scouts selling Christmas trees this year.