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Sports complex to open in closed Target store in West Dundee

The former Target building in West Dundee will soon be the site of a new sports training complex, which operators expect to run 360 days a year starting in November.

Plans for the nearly 125,000-square-foot building, at 999 W. Main St., indicate that the space will largely consist of areas for various sporting events and programs, as well as a health and fitness section.

Given the square footage, high ceilings and a parking lot of almost 1,000 spaces, the sports complex will be an ideal spot to hold tournaments and large events, said broker Joe Billitteri, of Lake in the Hills-based Premier Commercial Realty

"Here, we can do things that nobody else can," he said. "Tournaments will bring a lot of people to the area, which will benefit the restaurants, shopping, the hotels. People will come from all over."

The building, west of Routes 72 and 31, had been vacant for more than a year. It was among eight locations nationwide scheduled for closing.

The Best Buy next door had closed just a few years earlier, eliminating two of West Dundee's largest sales tax generators.

With the intention of drawing people into the area with a sporting facility, Billitteri and a small group of investors recently purchased the property from Target Corporations for about $2 million, he said.

Plans for the complex include a gymnastics center that will be operated by Dale and Mary Joe Roehrig, owners of Spring Hill Gymnastics in Elgin.

The plan, Dale Roehrig said, is to keep the Elgin location for competitive programs; recreation and preschool programs will be at the West Dundee spot.

The facility will also feature two full-size fields with bleachers that will be used for indoor soccer and lacrosse. Roehrig, who will oversee the fields, said developers have been in contact with local and regional clubs and leagues.

"Running an event, whatever it may be - I think that's going to be our forte," Roehrig said. "Our goal is to be a positive impact for the community and the region."

People can rent out a 3,000-square-foot banquet hall for parties and events, Billitteri said. The complex will also have a restaurant and seating area up front.

Multipurpose and recreational rooms will be used for yoga, crossfit training and martial arts. Adjacent to those rooms, a physical therapy clinic, as well as a lifestyle studio with aestheticians and beauticians.

Additional space in the back of the building is being used as a temporary haunted house, which will operate through October. Billitteri said there are no plans to fill that space permanently, but it could potentially be used for volleyball and basketball courts.

Tim Scott, West Dundee community development director, said he is hopeful that the sports complex will complement the adjacent Spring Hill Mall, especially after its $37.8 million redevelopment project is completed.

Billitteri said he envisions parents shopping at the mall after dropping off their kids at a sporting practice or class, or taking their kids out to eat at a surrounding restaurant.

With various tenants, sports and related services occupying the facility, the operation has many moving parts, Roehrig said. But he says it could become well known far beyond West Dundee, but still helping the village's economic climate.

"I've seen the rise and fall of this area," Roehrig said. "I'm hoping to be part of the rise."

  The former Target on Route 72 in West Dundee is undergoing construction inside to become a sports complex. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Developer Joe Billitteri shows what's in store for the former Target in West Dundee. The former retail space will become a sports training complex, with soccer/lacrosse fields, a gymnastics area and some recreational rooms for yoga, pilates and karate. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com
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