Residents press Wheaton mayor to get a downtown grocery store
Roughly 100 residents spent Saturday morning urging Wheaton Mayor Michael Gresk and city leaders to do more in attracting a new grocery store into its downtown.
But Gresk and several officials repeatedly said there was little they could do until the property housing the former Jewel Food Store along Willow Avenue is consolidated under one ownership.
"The reality is that this is going to be a market-driven situation," Gresk said.
The store, co-owned by Jewel-Osco's parent company Supervalu Inc. and CVS Caremark Corp, closed in February 2008 after more than four decades in operation.
Wheaton officials have been notified that CVS is planning to sell its one-third interest in the property to Supervalu by the end of the month. Representatives from both Wheaton and Supervalu are then expected to meet early next month to discuss the future of the property, City Manager Don Rose said.
The city has sent letters to about 300 grocers doing business in Illinois about the pending land sale, Gresk said, in an effort to seek interest in the property.
But he sidestepped repeated questions from residents about the city council offering tax incentives aimed at attracting a new grocer.
"I'm just one vote on this council board," he said. "I know there's some other council members here today; I don't know if they want to comment ... You never want to say never."
The city council has traditionally shied away from offering tax incentives to businesses interested in locating in Wheaton, Rose said. City officials have said the Jewel-Osco property could be valued at as much as $4 million, although Rose said that number may not be accurate given the current real estate market.
Several of the residents in attendance questioned whether the city was doing enough to find a replacement business to fill the void left by the closing of the Jewel-Osco. Some rejected ideas to locate a replacement store on the site of the Hubble Middle School property. The site at the corner of Roosevelt and Naperville roads will be available for redevelopment when the new Hubble opens in the fall in Warrenville.
"Do you see all the gray hairs here?" said Dee Garner, acknowledging the overwhelming presence of middle-aged and senior residents in attendance. "We aren't going to live long enough to see a grocery store at Hubble."