Swim school part of new Northwest Highway shopping center
An indoor swimming pool designed for lessons now stands on the site where Mark Motors once sold Mercedes-Benz cars.
The Chicago Swim School and Culver's restaurant opened recently in the new shopping center at 2020 E. Northwest Hwy. in Arlington Heights, developer Nick Papanicholas says.
Rob Jacobsen and Buffy Folise, owners of the swim school, were excited that they could design the building and pool.
“This is the first place we've been in designed for the school,” said Jacobsen. “In the other locations we rent pool time.”
Arlington Heights is the headquarters of the school, which has other sites in Glenview and Oswego.
The swim school offers lessons to children 6 months to 13 years, according to its website. It started in September 2005 in Rolling Meadows, and moved in 2006 to using an apartment complex in downtown Arlington Heights. Jacobsen and Folise, both experienced teachers, purchased the business in 2007.
Papanicholas, president of Nicholas & Associates of Mount Prospect, said he built a 30-by-60-foot swimming pool for the school.
“It's very shallow, just four feet deep in the middle,” he said.
The developer has grandchildren in the program. The school, he says, has “a great following,”
During some times of the year as many as 1,000 youngsters take lessons every week, said Jacobsen, who expects private swim schools to become more popular in the suburbs. Their advantages include smaller classes, warmer water, the ability to operate year around, and in many cases older instructors.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin-based Culver's has more than 450 restaurants in 19 states.
Sherwin-Williams is finishing its paint store, and expects to be open in a couple months, said Papanicholas.
He said he also has a contract with Express Scripts of St. Louis, which according to its website manages pharmacy prescriptions for clients such as employers and government.
Only 2,000 square feet remain to be leased in the 18,000-square-foot center, named “2020 on the Highway,” Papanicholas said.