Amazon store in Oak Brook moves closer to approval

A large-scale Amazon grocery and merchandise store proposed for the corner of Butterfield and Meyers roads in Oak Brook moved closer to fruition on Tuesday.

Oak Brook trustees voted 4-1 to draft a final approval ordinance for the planned development. The ordinance is expected to return to the village board for a vote on Aug. 11.

Village Trustee Michael Manzo called the prospective Amazon store “a huge win” for Oak Brook.

“We’re going to go turn a blighted office complex with over 600,000 square feet of building that’s blighted, that’s mostly vacant, and we’re going to make it something that’s going to be a tremendous asset to our village,” Manzo said.

He estimated the store would bring the village an annual $2 million to $4 million and would join Costco as “our No. 1 or No. 2 largest sales tax producer.”

GTZ Properties of Highland Park had proposed a one-story, 225,000-square-foot building on roughly 27 acres, a request that would require a zoning change from office to retail use.

Currently, the site has seven office buildings owned by Inland. If the project is approved by the village, all those buildings would be demolished.

Although the site plan includes 871 parking spaces and nine loading docks, the proposed development would increase green space by about 25% with two new ponds. An outlot of roughly 1.7 acres is also on the site for future use.

An Ashley Furniture store had initially been planned for the outlot but was withdrawn before a May 13 planning and zoning board meeting. Commissioners voted 7-1 to recommend approval of the project.

A plat of consolidation, reviewed by Oak Brook’s planning board on July 1, combined five lots and seven addresses into one lot to be used by the Amazon store, and the outlot. The consolidated lot will have the address of 2901 Butterfield Road.

The front of the store would offer groceries and general merchandise. The back would be used to hold more merchandise for store customers as well as those ordering online for pickup or delivery.

Several residents of the nearby Ginger Creek subdivision attended Tuesday’s meeting and raised concerns mainly about traffic and stormwater runoff.

Village President Laurence Herman said Amazon has modified its plans to address those concerns.

Herman said at an April meeting he hosted with presidents of Oak Brook homeowners associations, all but Ginger Creek approved of the new store.

“In fact,” Herman said, “seldom have I witnessed such overwhelming community support for a proposed development.”